FULFILLING LOFTY AMBITIONS

Friday, November 03, 2006

BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH

Star-Ledger Staff

Hoping to take advantage of an emerging transit village in Orange, developers are investing millions of dollars to construct new market- rate housing in the city.

The new homes will be built by three different developers near NJ Transit's Midtown Direct service to Manhattan.

Keith Miles, of the city-based MidSouth Asset Holding, Jose Rosario, of Rosmar Associates of Bloomfield, and Richard Groves, of Scott Groves Development Group in West Orange, are individually "helping lead the city's transition from providing affordable to market rate housing," according to Marty Mayes, the city's director of planning and economic development.

Those three small development firms, along with seven large firms that collectively plan to create more than 1,300 other residential units throughout the city, prove investors have "a strong interest in the city, especially when it comes to increasing home ownership," Mayes said.

Nearly 75 percent of Orange's residential properties are home to renters. The city's upgraded master plan calls for reversing the trend by promoting home owner ship and market-rate housing.

But home ownership won't come cheap.

The homes at Rosmar Estates, which will be built on 1.8 acres at 394 Highland Ave. in the Seven Oaks section of the city, will range from $800,000 to $1.2 million.

The property tax bill alone for new Rosmar Estates homeowners could range from $22,240 to $33,360 under the city's new tax rate of $2.78 of $100 per $100 of assessed valuation. Properties in Orange have been assessed at their full market value since a revaluation went into affect last month.

Rosario said the five high-end luxury homes will be constructed with so-called green technology that is environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

The smallest home to be built on the newly created subdivision will be a four-bedroom residence, with 4 1/2 baths, selling for about $800,000, and the largest will be a five-bedroom residence, with a library, den and six bathrooms, selling in the $1.2-million range.

"I believe there is a market here," Rosario said of the five residences that will be ready for occupancy, one each month, starting the end of January. "The sale prices will be near cost, our cost of construction. We're using these homes for marketing, so we can sell other green houses in other areas."

Each residence will comply with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance structures, and the air conditioning systems in each will have a "21" seasonal energy efficiency rating (SEER), Rosario said.

In Orange's Valley residential area, Miles is constructing two- unit, loft-style, green-building condominiums. Each unit will feature thick concrete-block walls, living room areas with 17-foot ceilings, three bedrooms, at least two bath rooms, at least one walk-in closet, and some oversized windows, the largest of which measures 64 by 84 inches.

The benefits of this type of cement block construction include the creation of a home that is soundproof, mildew resistant and energy efficient, Miles said.

The first home being made out of concrete -- actually concrete poured into hollow Styrofoam cinder block forms that have 20-foot long iron rods running through them -- is at 555 Tremont Ave. Each of the two loft units there will be about 2,000 square feet.

The small back yard in the rear of the planned four-story building will allow for four parking spaces.

To provide alternative recreational space, however, Miles said he plans on constructing a 30-by-50-foot rooftop garden, complete with sod grass, shrubbery and railing. Both units will access that rooftop garden through an en closed, rear staircase that also provides access to the back yard, Miles said.

Energy-efficient appliances, bamboo floors, bathrooms with marble floors and tiled walls, recessed lighting and a large U- shaped kitchen will be featured in each unit. Miles said he expects to sell the lofts for about $550,000 each.

A four-story model home is nearing completion at 530 Argyle Ave., just west of Scotland Road and adjacent to the NJ Transit rail line. It's the same style as the Tremont Avenue building under construction, but the model is 3,000 square feet, features 22-foot living room ceilings and does not have concrete block walls.

All of the other homes Miles plans to build, the remainder of which will be on nearby Valley Road, are near mass transit.

"We're banking on the homes being successfully sold because of the proximity of NJ Transit's Highland Avenue train station, (and) the Mountain Station in (nearby) South Orange," Miles said.

Groves, of Scott-Groves Development, plans to pump $2.1 million into creating 13,528 square feet of space when his firm constructs Reock Plaza Lofts, a project with two buildings on Reock Street, between South Center and South Day streets.

One commercial space, 2,200 square feet, and seven large residential lofts -- averaging from 1,470 square feet to 2,100 square feet, and featuring 18-foot ceilings, solar power and green building heating technology -- are planned for that downtown location.

The Orange Planning Board approved the project last Wednesday.

Groves said construction on the lofts -- which are expected to sell somewhere in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and take anywhere from nine to 10 months to complete -- should begin in March.

Kevin C. Dilworth covers East Orange and Orange. He can be reached at kdilworth@starledger.com or (973) 392-4143