Downtown Bank Property Off the Market

The former Sovereign Bank property in downtown Fanwood has been sold, Mayor Colleen Mahr announced Tuesday night.

The  South Avenue site, which sits adjacent to the borough-owned Livingston Wilbur building, was bought by Elite Properties out of Warren.

“This is extremely good news for the borough,” Mahr said.

The mayor told Patch that the contract was executed within the last week and that the plan is for Elite Properties to develop the site in a way that's similar to the other new properties downtown.

"Basically we've been encouraging them to continue with what you see now, the three-story mixed use, retail, commercial and residential, because that's worked, it's the best use for it," she said.

Mahr noted that Elite Properties could now move on to also purchase the Livingston-Wilbur property as well.

"It's always been the borough's intention," Mahr said. "We made it clear that whoever controlled the bank, that they would then work with the borough (on the Livingston-Wilbur site) because the property's adjoined. While one property is good, two are better because it gives you that much more."

Mahr said she's unsure of how much the Sovereign Bank site was purchased for.

Also Tuesday night, Borough Engineer Joseph Pryor reported to the mayor and council that the demolition of the Livingston Wilbur Property on South Avenue should be completed in the next 30 days.

“The building could be knocked down within a week"  after the electric and water services are decommissioned and the asbestos situation is diagnosed and properly handled, Pryor said. No additional testing is required on the site.