Post by admin on Dec 23, 2008 7:05:01 GMT -5
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1223/front_page/025.html
Office building on hold in face of U.S. recession
Applicant holds approval for retail/office structure in downtown Freehold
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — The economic recession the United States finds itself dealing with is trickling down into Freehold Borough and putting some new construction projects in a holding pattern.
A project that most likely would have been under way at this time is in limbo and waiting for the economy to turn around, according to attorney Mark Williams.
Williams, of the firm Mehr, La France and Williams, in Freehold, represented Rakesh Kumar, principal owner of HRS Investments LLC, before the Freehold Borough Planning Board in 2006. Kumar proposed, and received approval, to build a retail/office building on the corner of Spring and East Main streets.
A gas station at the property is not in use and will be demolished when Kumar moves forward with his building.
"The project is just sitting there stagnant right now," Williams told the News Transcript this week.
After rejecting Kumar's plan to construct a 16,415-square-foot building in July 2006 because they said it was too large for the property, the board members approved the construction of a 14,766-square-foot building on the same property in October 2006.
"We have two problems in regard to this project. We had a boundary issue with one of the neighbors," Williams said, adding that the issue appears to have been resolved.
The second problem is much larger in scope, according to the attorney, who said the "economic times in Freehold Borough" are putting the project on hold.
Williams said his client "would love to build the retail/office building on East Main Street, but he is treading water right now."
He said Kumar is hesitant to invest "several million dollars into a retail building that right now he's not sure he can fill."
Although Williams said the property at the corner of East Main and Spring streets (next to Tony's Freehold Grill) is "well located" in the downtown area, with things as tenuous as they are in the economy, he does not see a large market for office rental space right now.
"Our feelers are not promising and we don't see any commitment from those people who would be looking to rent. I don't see him (Kumar) building it until we come out of this — whenever that will be," the attorney said.
Williams said office space is "just not filling up these days." He mentioned a new Freehold Commons office building on South Street across from the St. Rose of Lima School and said it appears that building is having a hard time filling up.
"We ourselves have office space that we haven't filled," he said.
Elliot Rubinson, one of the principals in DTAK Realty, which owns the Freehold Commons, referred questions about the property to Suzanne Macnow of CB Richard Ellis Realty, East Brunswick.
Macnow said the Freehold Commons "is getting a decent amount of activity."
"We have one lease singed and the tenant will be moving in this month. We are also finalizing an office condominium lease," she said this week.
Macnow said although inquiries for rentals and purchases of space are "not as frequent" as they had expected initially, in the current weak market, she is still seeing activity.
"Not at the level we would like, perhaps, but we are getting activity," she said.
Office building on hold in face of U.S. recession
Applicant holds approval for retail/office structure in downtown Freehold
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — The economic recession the United States finds itself dealing with is trickling down into Freehold Borough and putting some new construction projects in a holding pattern.
A project that most likely would have been under way at this time is in limbo and waiting for the economy to turn around, according to attorney Mark Williams.
Williams, of the firm Mehr, La France and Williams, in Freehold, represented Rakesh Kumar, principal owner of HRS Investments LLC, before the Freehold Borough Planning Board in 2006. Kumar proposed, and received approval, to build a retail/office building on the corner of Spring and East Main streets.
A gas station at the property is not in use and will be demolished when Kumar moves forward with his building.
"The project is just sitting there stagnant right now," Williams told the News Transcript this week.
After rejecting Kumar's plan to construct a 16,415-square-foot building in July 2006 because they said it was too large for the property, the board members approved the construction of a 14,766-square-foot building on the same property in October 2006.
"We have two problems in regard to this project. We had a boundary issue with one of the neighbors," Williams said, adding that the issue appears to have been resolved.
The second problem is much larger in scope, according to the attorney, who said the "economic times in Freehold Borough" are putting the project on hold.
Williams said his client "would love to build the retail/office building on East Main Street, but he is treading water right now."
He said Kumar is hesitant to invest "several million dollars into a retail building that right now he's not sure he can fill."
Although Williams said the property at the corner of East Main and Spring streets (next to Tony's Freehold Grill) is "well located" in the downtown area, with things as tenuous as they are in the economy, he does not see a large market for office rental space right now.
"Our feelers are not promising and we don't see any commitment from those people who would be looking to rent. I don't see him (Kumar) building it until we come out of this — whenever that will be," the attorney said.
Williams said office space is "just not filling up these days." He mentioned a new Freehold Commons office building on South Street across from the St. Rose of Lima School and said it appears that building is having a hard time filling up.
"We ourselves have office space that we haven't filled," he said.
Elliot Rubinson, one of the principals in DTAK Realty, which owns the Freehold Commons, referred questions about the property to Suzanne Macnow of CB Richard Ellis Realty, East Brunswick.
Macnow said the Freehold Commons "is getting a decent amount of activity."
"We have one lease singed and the tenant will be moving in this month. We are also finalizing an office condominium lease," she said this week.
Macnow said although inquiries for rentals and purchases of space are "not as frequent" as they had expected initially, in the current weak market, she is still seeing activity.
"Not at the level we would like, perhaps, but we are getting activity," she said.