“This has been an ongoing headache,” said Mayor Vic DeLuca at Tuesday night’s Maplewood Township Committee meeting. DeLuca was referring to the delay-plagued Daibes 5,000 square foot mixed-use project on Springfield Avenue, across from the Police & Courts Building.
At the last TC meeting, DeLuca asked Township Counsel Roger Desiderio to begin exploring the township’s avenues for recourse. On Tuesday, Desiderio said he had reached out for legal recommendations from the town’s redevelopment counsel.
Desiderio also noted that the property has been transferred to two subsequent developers without the TC’s approval, which is a violation of the redevelopment agreement. The developer also failed to comply with the construction schedule, another violation of the agreement.
Read more about the troubled project’s history here.
The recommendation of counsel was that the Township should issue a termination notice to Daibes, suggesting that if violations are not cured the redevelopment agreement will be terminated as of Oct. 21, 2015. Desiderio said that the Township can then decide if solutions offered by the developer are sufficient or if they want to “let the termination go into effect.”
Committeeman Marlon K. Brownlee asked, “We are voting to terminate this agreement … but if they convince us otherwise we may decide to rescind?”
Desiderio said that was correct. The Township Committee then unanimously voted to authorize Desiderio to notify the developer of the termination of the agreement.
