A rendering of Meridia on Westfield, located at 610 West Westfield Ave. in Roselle Park. — Courtesy: Capodagli Property Co.,
By Joshua Burd
A developer is set to transform a tired stretch of Route 28 in Roselle Park, with plans to build more than 200 new apartments and street-level retail space over the next two years.
At a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, the borough’s mayor was unequivocal about the project’s impact.
“This today is the biggest thing that has hit this town in 50 years,” Roselle Park Mayor Carl Hokanson said. “And if we all go well, probably within the next year or year and a half, you’re going to see so much improvement.”
Hokanson was among dozens of stakeholders and well-wishers who joined the developer, Capodagli Property Co., to mark the start of construction at the 212-unit Meridia on Westfield complex. Located at 610 West Westfield Ave., less than a mile from the Garden State Parkway, the project is the first of what the mayor believes will be several developments to help boost the municipality’s tax rolls and economic vitality.
The first phase is slated for completion in 2019. For Capodagli, the project is the latest piece of a construction pipeline that has helped spark development in other previously overlooked towns and cities, with an emphasis on “building to the middle” when it comes to demographics and market rents.
“There are a lot of people in the middle,” said George Capodagli, managing member of Capodagli Property Co., which is based in nearby Linden. “There’s more of us in the middle than there are at the top or bottom, and that’s who we build for. That’s important.”
The property will have garage and plaza parking for cars and bicycles, along with street-level retail space that will include a full-service restaurant and bar, the firm said. Amenities will include a fitness center, community and party rooms and pet care, with high-end finishes and appliances in each apartment.
March Associates Construction Inc. is serving as construction manager. The complex has been designed by CPA Architecture.
Capodagli has completed similar Meridia-branded developments in Rahway, Bound Brook, West New York, Hackensack, Linden and Wallington. And Thursday’s groundbreaking follows the start of construction at a new development in Dover.
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“Each Meridia property is designed with the community’s needs in mind,” Capodagli said. “In Roselle Park, we want our buildings to reflect the excitement and beauty of the new downtown revitalization.”
