Community Input, Expert Advice Leads to Post Office Plan

Maplewood Township released on Wednesday the long-awaited Maplewood Village Post Office Redevelopment Plan, the result of years of discussion, community meetings and advice from professional planners. The plan will guide the development of the .75-acre site in a prime Village location, which will be a flat parcel of land after the Post Office vacates the space in November.

"A lot of ideas were put forth, and we discussed them all," said Mayor Vic DeLuca, who emphasized that the plan is not "set in stone" and that it will need to be voted on by the Township Committee and approved by the Planning Board before a developer is sought. "There will still be changes made to the plan along the way," said DeLuca.

The plan can be found here on the township website. 

The redevelopment area consists of three, town-owned properties totalling just over 33,000 square feet: the Post Office building (including part of the parking lot on the northern end) the Village Coffee parking lot, and the strip of sidewalk across from Ricalton Square that parallels the train tracks.

Over the last couple of years, three community meetings have been held to gather input from residents. (Read about those meetings here, here and here). The township also sought opinions from the Maplewood Village Alliance and the Township's Economic Development Committee. 

Drafted by the planning firm of Phillips Preiss Grygiel LLC, the plan calls for a development that is mixed-use, transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly, similar in scale to other Village buildings, and maintains open space -- all which is consistent with the goals of the township's 2004 Master Plan.  

The developer the town selects will have its own ideas about how to develop the site, said certified planner Paul Grygiel, and the plan is the township's attempt to guide that development as much as it can.

Here are some highlights:

• Permitted uses for a building (or buildings) include a bank, grocery store, restaurant or retail post office on the ground floor and a hotel, offices or apartments on top floors. (DeLuca has said he hopes Kings Market will become the ground floor tenant and that he would like to see the upper floors be residential).

• Maximum height of the building will be no more than three stories or 40 feet tall; maximum building coverage of the lot will be 60%. "That is in direct response to some of the concerns voiced at the

• Buildings must be constructed of "high-quality materials" including brick, stone and stucco. Certain materials -- such as vinyl siding and vinyl windows -- are prohibited.

• The strip that runs parallel to the train tracks from Baker Street all the way to the train station opposite Ricalton Square will be a pedestrian walkway and bike path. 

• There will be one or more open, public spaces consisting of a minimum of 1,500 square feet. 

• There must be a "visual connection" between the south pedestrian tunnel behind the Post Office (that links Memorial Park to the Village) and Maplewood Avenue. To this end, the tunnel could be widened or moved further south.

• The current number of public parking spaces will be maintained either in the rehabilitation area or within reasonable walking distance. 

• If a developer chooses to build residential apartments, no more than 25 units will be allowed, said Grygiel, to not overwhelm the site with parking needs. 

"This plan allows for a lot [of different ideas] to be considered," said DeLuca.

The Township Committee will vote at its May 7 meeting on a resolution to refer the document to the Planning Board, rather than adopt the plan on first reading. "We want to keep it as a document subject to a lot of changes," said DeLuca.

The TC will then introduce the plan on June 5 and vote on its adoption on June 19. An RFP would be issued sometime in July, and a developer chosen around September.

"We are getting close," said Grygiel. "We listened to community feedback, and we will await further feedback."

The township is also seeking to relocate a retail storefront postal service somewhere within the Village.