Politics & Government

Joanow Discusses Bloomfield Redevelopment

In a Patch Q & A, Councilman Nick Joanow shares his opinion on what Bloomfield needs, and what he thinks it will get.

 

The subject of the town redevelopment has been a subject of debate and discussion recent months, with residents sharing their opinions on what the future holds for Bloomfield.

At official meetings and around town many questions have arisen, such as: Which businesses will eventually rent space in the new development complex?  How will Bloomfield will raise revenues and ratables?  Should the township assume the debt of the parking garage?  What effect will all the new development have on the town's resources?  And the list goes on.

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Councilman Nick Joanow recently spoke with Patch about his thoughts for the new redevelopment and what it will mean for Bloomfield.

PATCH: What do you think the town center redevelopment needs?

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JOANOW:  I want something distinctive.  I want something that's going to draw me from the Second Ward to the town center. Foodtown doesn't get my adrenaline going.  And it's not what you promised us. 

One third of the development is going to be the supermarket.  What that says to me is, if we have to be thrilled with getting the Foodtown and reduce the expected rent and give up approximately 43 parking spots -- that's an act of desperation. We’re giving up quite a bit to get a Foodtown.   

There's always been in a Mason-Dixon line in Bloomfield, and this only solidifies that perception.  I'm getting worried.  When Trader Joe's says no [to moving in to Bloomfield], this tells me that they have no confidence in this project.  It doesn't even appear that we’ll see any return on our tax dollars here.

 

PATCH: In your opinion, will the redevelopment raise revenue for the township?

JOANOW: Parking garages do not produce revenue.  Colgan is not a developer, he's a speculator.  Heller is a developer/redeveloper.  

I'm hoping that the revenue will be there [when the development project is completed.] Excess revenue?   I'm more concerned that we're going to get the basic revenue.  I'd be thrilled if we just broke even.

 

PATCH: What do you think of the this month to appropriate an additional $2 million (totalling $5 million) to help pay for the new parking garage?

JOANOW: The Township was allotted $25 million worth of bonds.  They’ve used $16 million of that.  What they asked for, and got permission for [at the last council meeting], was to extend their line of credit.  

Five votes are required for a township bond. The great minds said, 'we’ve got four votes here. Let’s rethink this.  Let's just extend the line of credit and then we only need a resolution. We don't need a fifth vote for that.'

Only four votes are required to extend the line of credit that the township already has. 

 PATCH:  You've said a new fiscal impact study needs to be done by the township.  Township officials have said there were as many as three new fiscal impact studies done in the past twelve years or so, the most recent in 2008-2009. What would a new study accomplish? 

JOANOW:  We’ve got to bring ourselves up to the present. We have to study the long-term effects of the redevelopment, in terms of education, infrastructure, the environment – everything.  In my opinion, [regarding school overcrowding] if you’re going to have three-bedroom units it will absolutely attract families.  Even a two-bedroom unit doesn’t mean it won’t attract families.

 

PATCH: Would another impact study delay any of the projects going forward?

JOANOW: An impact study would not stop any project, it will hopefully just improve the outcome.  You can’t move forward without information. You can’t move forward blindly without any idea of the impact [of what you’re proposing to do.]  It’s like falling off a cliff.

 

PATCH: Do you have any advice for the developer?

JOANOW: Let the developers compete against each other and say [to the people of Bloomfield] ‘this is what we can do for you.’   If we’re in such a prime location, if everyone’s so envious of us, why are we making deals with places like Foodtown?  

This is an incredible period of time for this town. We've gone from an industrial base to a residential one. This is the most dramatic redevelopment boom in the history of Bloomfield.

I hope in five years [the town] rises up and we can say, ‘well, what do you know?  We did it’.”

 

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