Silk Mill Renovations Can Begin, Planners Say

Easton’s planning commission gave preliminary site plan approval Wednesday for the rehabilitation of the former Simon Silk Mill, a move that will bring the first activity to the vacant site in more than a decade.

“We’ll start to see some impact full, significant changes on the site,” said Gretchen Longenbach, executive director of the city’s redevelopment authority.

Phase one of the project focuses on the rehabilitation of two of the 14 buildings on the existing 15-acre site via a private/public partnership. These buildings, to be located on a to-be-built connector road in the middle of the site, will be revamped into a mix of commercial and residential units, according to the plans.

The redevelopment authority will handle infrastructure through state, federal and county grants, said Longenbach. Meanwhile, Flemington, NJ-based VM Development will handle the actual rehabilitation of the buildings.

The larger of the two buildings at 44,000 square feet will feature a commercial use on the first floor and 36 one- and two-bedroom apartment units on the upper stories.

The rents are anticipated to be in the $800-$900-per-month, per-unit range, said VM’s CEO Mark Mulligan. The 11,000-square-foot second building will accommodate parking, storage and possibly a commercial use, according to Mulligan.

Mulligan stated that the commercial uses are undecided but they would probably cater the needs of the apartment residents. “The idea is to create a village atmosphere,” he said.

Before Mulligan can take over, the Redevelopment Authority must complete its infrastructure work. This includes the construction of the 370-foot access road and demolition on the site.

Longenbach told the Planning Commission that one building on the site already had been demolished because it was in a state of disrepair.

That is the only building that will be demolished, but several ancillary structures need to be taken down as well. She testified that at least $2 million in grants and loans will be spent on creating the infrastructure. She said that ground will move in the spring and work will last about a year.

Mulligan added that as soon as the necessary infrastructure is complete, his group can move in and begin work. He anticipated work starting in the fall of 2013 and ending about a year later. His company’s end of this phase of the project is anticipated to be about $4 million. He said 100-150 construction jobs would be created during the rehabilitation phase.

Commission Member Ronald Shipman expressed concern about the increase in traffic the first phase could bring to 13th street. He was concerned about vehicles turning into the site from the already congested 13th Street.

“It could be a nightmare, quite frankly,” Shipman said.

Longenbach answered that the area is already under par traffic wise and any development would exacerbate the situation. She noted, though, that the Redevelopment Authority is working with the state Department of Transportation to ease the problem.

The initial phase of redevelopment could generate more than $300,000 in tax income to the city and county, according to Redevelopment Authority estimates.

But because the developer is seeking several state tax abatements, that income would not be seen for 10 years. As a city-owned property, the site currently generates no tax income. The property is not expected to create any significant new expenses for the city, said Longenbach.

“The benefits of redevelopment far outweigh any [new] expenses we might incur,” she said.