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consensus on acceptable designs and, more recently, slowdowns in available labor and construction materials during and since COVID.
“When you seek to rezone, it’s extremely, extremely difficult,” Montvale Planning Board Chairman John DePinto said. Mercedes-Benz had occupied the site for decades, and IBM before that. “But we had no choice.”
Town leaders did not want to watch the site turn to rot.
“Mercedes abandoned us,” DePinto said. “We needed to use a creative approach. We kept the lines of communication open with the public. The developer shared his concepts. We communicated the benefits. We needed to win consensus because
we needed to replace a huge loss of ratables.”
DePinto said Mercedes-Benz paid $750,000 annually in taxes. North Market will ultimately pay $1.4 million in annual taxes, he added.
To some degree, the successful
Shoppes at DePiero Farm, a former historic site, paved the way for
leases” for ground-floor retail spaces.
“This is unusual,” Hekemian said, commenting on market trends. But he believes the confluence of the nearby Shoppes, haute design, a resort lifestyle feel with an integration of luxury amenities and nearby retail and restaurants is the draw for apartment seekers.
The two residential buildings along with the office complex have tenant commitments from Fleming’s Steakhouse, Paris Baguette, Glosslab, Rumble Boxing and Naya Mezze & Grill.
The four-story apartment buildings at 100 Market and 300 Market have units ranging from nearly 700 square feet to 1,500 square feet of light-filled space with large windows, 11-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, Kohler and Moen bath fixtures and private balconies and patios. Kitchens include gas ranges, stainless steel appliances and Ceaserstone countertops. Apartments include walk-in closets and washers and dryers.
The buildings feel like city-cool with a large lobby, an inner courtyard with a hot tub and outdoor swimming pool, a reflection terrace with gardens, grilling stations, cozy conversation hubs with lush furniture, a bar, lounge chairs and a fire pit. Inside there is
a lobby coffee bar, a spa with a hot tub, a cold plunge, a sauna and steam room, a fitness center and spin room and a yoga studio.
The apartments have keyless entry, and the pet-friendly buildings offer a pet spa and dog run. There are EV charging stations and a co-working space for residents only.
“The extraordinary pace of leasing activity certainly validates that The District is truly something special,” Hekemian said. RE ”
Tina Traster is a freelance writer and the editor of Rockland County Business Journal. She is also a former business writer for Crain’s New York Business, real estate writer for the New York Post and staffer at the Bergen Record.
John DePinto
North Market.
It is a tastefully designed shopping center with a nod to country life but has a top-tier lineup of retail including Bergen County’s first
Wegman’s, Starbucks, Lululemon, Chopt, Orangetheory Fitness, Ulta Beauty, CityMD and more.
“The Shoppes are the true anchor,” Hekemian said, adding that the mixed-used North Market and the shopping center “all feed off each other. Together they energize the environment.”
Hekemian points to the nearly full occupancy of Workplace North Market despite a glut of empty office space countywide. Meantime, renters have leased about 50 percent of The District, the first residential building, while there are “at least 13 pending
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