Ezra J. Temko

The 203 New London Road project was tabled at the July 14 council meeting in order for the applicant to better respond to questions and concerns. There will be a community meeting on August 13 at 7:15 pm in the George Wilson Center to continue that process.

Since the meeting, I have met with the owners of the property and engineers and discussed my concerns with them. They explained to me the building code violation which has been fixed. They have also taken down the signs people did not like and are renaming the existing building from “New London Road Apartments” to “The Ice House,” in keeping with its historical nature. They have also ordered a small informational sign to be placed on the building. If they are able to proceed with the project it will be replaced with a more attractive permanent sign.

I hope you will come to this meeting to talk about what you would like to see regarding development in our community and more specifically this project. The owners will be there to discuss your concerns and work through the issues with you such as parking and student parties. They also will present some potential changes to the plan that I have asked them to put together. These include additional landscaping in the parking lot to further shield it from New London Road and a few facade alternatives for us to choose from to make the proposed building as attractive as possible as well as ensure it fits into the surrounding area. Additionally, the owners have agreed to have the building be LEED Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is THE standard for high-performance construction in the United States. If passed, this building would be the first in Newark to be LEED certified.

I hope to see you at the meeting. In the meantime, if you have any questions on this, please let me know. If you have any specific questions for the developer that may require research or thought beyond what can be provided in an immediate back-and-forth setting, please let me know and I can pass your question on to the developer so that it can be adequately addressed at the meeting.

Please consider coming to this meeting so that you can have your questions answered and offer constructive comments about what could make this proposal an asset for our community. I believe this is the process we should be using for development proposals but it can only work with your participation!