The Trenton Parking Authority is hosting a Redevelopment Stakeholder Meeting to continue gathering public input regarding the defunct Front Street Parking Garage in downtown Trenton.
The session, the second of two, is set Monday, September 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Mercer County Community College’s James Kerney Campus on North Broad Street.
The five-story, 22,000-square-foot parking garage, also known as the South Broad and Front Street Garage, was constructed in 1976 and closed in 2012.
The facility has become physically and operationally compromised by flooding and vandalism.
According to TPA materials, “the Front Street Garage in Trenton is one of the single most important redevelopment sites in the downtown area. How this transformational site is redeveloped will set the tone and pave the way for future redevelopment within a several block area.”
TPA board chair and prominent Trenton realtor and community activist Anne Labate says in a statement that she and other board members “recognize that the continued vacant status of this centrally location property has a significant detrimental effect on its environs. It also has the potential to be a catalyst for activation of a key downtown location.
“A civic engagement will effort will allow Trenton residents and stakeholders to participate in both proposing and consideration of viable development options. This process is envisioned as an opportunity to elicit ideas and preferred design concepts for this key site. Further, it will engender dialogue with residents and stakeholders, build understanding related to market forces, and integration with municipal planning efforts, particularly the City’s Trenton 250 Plan. This plan calls for capitalizing on key physical assets. We believe that this property is indeed the best development site in downtown Trenton.”
The first meeting was held in August and drew more than 60 people.
The meetings have been designed in collaboration with New Jersey Future, a Trenton based nonprofit engaged in research, policy development, advocacy, and strategic local assistance to foster redevelopment.
According to TPA materials, the parking authority had already identified pre-development tasks necessary to move forward on the redevelopment of the garage site and completed a residential market study in 2018.
However, the “onset of the Covid 19 pandemic resulted in a significant loss in parking income. This necessitated that reserve funds expected to be available for both hard and soft cost predevelopment activities were instead used for ongoing obligations including bond payments and general operations.”
Currently, the TPA is in discussion and planning with state and public-private grups to move the project forward.
TPA was created by the City of Trenton in 1948 for the purpose “of acquiring, constructing, maintaining, and operating parking facilities to promote commerce and economic renewal.”
It is governed by a board of seven appointed commissioners and owns and operates five parking facilities: the Merchant Street surface lot, Warren Street Garage, South Broad and Front Street Garage, Lafayette Yard Parking Garage, and Liberty Commons Parking Facility.
TPA organizers note, “It’s important for us to gather the community’s input” and “strengthen the Trenton downtown area and foster an inclusive positive environment for all.”
The Trenton Front Street Parking Garage Redevelopment Stakeholder Meeting will be held at Mercer County Community College James Kerney Campus’s Community Room, 102 North Broad Street, on Monday, September 25, from 6 to 8 p.m.
To learn more or to register to attend the session, go to forms.gle/v4A1CyXdQQWzujfHA. For more information on the TPA, visit tpanj.com/index.htm#About.
