Closter — Despite the current plans for Closter Plaza, which include the addition of Whole Foods and some façade and parking improvements, Cresskill native Francis Reiner has a vision for the area.
His plan is that one day a "mixed use town center," with boutique shops under residential apartments and a parking lot in the center, hidden from view, will take the place of the plaza.
Map courtesy of Francis Reiner
This conceptual site plan of Closter Plaza as a mixed use village center is what Francis Reiner envisions for the area.
|
"[What you] find all across the country is someone may grow up in town and as they get older they don’t want to or can’t maintain a single family house. With this situation if someone wants to stay in Closter they have the opportunity to buy a condo or a town home above a retail store," Reiner said.
Reiner is an urban designer in North Carolina but grew up in Cresskill and said he has always thought Closter Plaza has a lot of potential for this type of development. However, he said he has not been in touch with the planner for the plaza, Joe Lipari and said the owner, Aspi Irani, is not interested in selling.
He pointed to environmental benefits of his vision, saying the apartments’ location amidst the stores would eliminate the need for many people to drive, lessening their dependency on gas.
Reiner thinks Closter would benefit from the plaza being transformed into this type of development some day, even if the idea isn’t taken up immediately.
"My plan is a long term vision for the property… [to be] discussed and debated in an open public forum," said Reiner.
"I believe the redevelopment of that property into a mixed use town center would have a profound and dramatic positive impact on the town of Closter and the surrounding areas," he said.
Reiner’s concept of the mixed use center calls for two retail "anchor" stores such as a Whole Foods or Sears, which would be the main business generators. The rest of the layout calls for streets lined with boutique shops with condominiums or town homes above. Reiner said his plan does not increase the total square footage of the retail, but rather rearranges it into a "more pedestrian friendly" environment. He also said it would not be a great traffic generator, since the residential use would not contribute heavily to traffic flow.
"The things I remember growing up as a child are the times I spent with my folks sitting outside, listening to music in a social setting or eating an ice cream. Property has the opportunity to affect positively how parents interact with their kids and wives interact with their husbands," he said.
Reiner, who said he remembers playing in Closter as a youngster and going to the Closter movie theater as a child, thinks his vision would "change the way people live in a positive way."
The plans for implementing this type of center, said Reiner, would take years to develop. It would have to be rezoned, entitled and engineers and architects would have to be consulted. It may take three years before any actual groundbreaking could take place.
"I hope I can convince someone this property is valuable enough to consider redeveloping and that it would have a dramatic impact on the lives of those people in a positive way that live in and around Closter," said Reiner.
Lipari would not comment on Reiner’s suggestion except to say that a lease has been signed with Whole Foods. He said he is proceeding with an application before the town that reflects a façade and parking area improvements for the Plaza. As of press time Irani had not returned phone call for comment.
Councilman John Kashwick does not foresee a plan of this type ever taking hold in Closter, saying such development is better for a more urbanized area.
"I think Closter doesn’t have the infrastructure to support that," said Kashwick, citing what he thinks would be heavy traffic near Hillside School, a burden on the sewage system and the need for additional police presence.
"The presence of a large scale development in that area would diminish the small town character of Closter," said Kashwick.
"In a more urbanized area … something like that would be a good way to redevelop the area but Closter is limited with its transportation, [its] roads are rather narrow. I couldn’t see it happening," he said.
