Borough Moves Forward with Negotiations on Sovereign Bank Site

Fanwood's mayor and council designated Elite Properties as the conditional redeveloper of the Sovereign Bank site on Wednesday night.

During a special meeting of the Fanwood Redevelopment Agency, Elite Properties' David Checchio told the council that his company, which consists of his father, brother, and two other partners, is committed to seeing out the vision already established for downtown.

"We're very excited about this progress because we know Fanwood," Checchio said, noting that he and his brother were raised nearby in Scotch Plains and his father is the treasurer of the Scotch Plains Italian-American Club. "We're familiar with your vision and we share that vision."

The plan for the property is to build another mixed-use building similar to the one already across from the Fanwood Train Station. Checchio said Elite Properties desires to build luxury residential units above the storefronts. Elite has worked on similar projects in other towns and also has a history of building luxury homes, Checchio said.

"This is a very wonderful moment for us," Mayor Colleen Mahr said. "Not only to have the last piece that was hanging out there, but also the ability to negotiate with us for the borough properties next door."

As part of the deal, Elite Properties also has expressed interest in exploring the purchase of the Livingston-Wilbur property next door once its demolition is complete.

The resolution passed Wednesday night allows the borough to negotiate with the developers over the next couple of months.

"This is a good way to end a year in a recession," Mahr said.

In regards to the Livingston-Wilbur property, the council also passed a resolution to move forward with the next step in that plan.

A site investigation of the property, which identifies which materials needed to be removed or remediated, is being finished up and will be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection in the next day or so. From there, they will get approval of what needs to be done in the Remedial Investigation Report, which will determine the type and extent of contamination on the site.

The council was told that after three tanks are removed from the building that were used for heating oil and after the windows with asbestos are removed, that then the construction office will release a permit for demolition.