Scaled Down Lackawanna Plaza in Montclair Garners Approval

BDP Holdings’ Lackawanna Plaza development in Montclair is picking up steam after being scaled down.

This week, Montclair’s council voted in favor of BDP’s plan to revamp the shopping center, NorthJersey.com reported. The project includes apartment buildings, retail components, offices and a supermarket.

The council vote enshrined general layouts and building heights. A site plan still needs to be submitted and approved.

The plan was reduced two months ago to improve its odds with local officials. Instead of 375 housing units across five buildings, it had 300 housing units and shorter building heights.

The township requires at least 20 percent of the housing to be affordable. Some of the units will be short-term rentals, which are not subject to the same regulations, but may be counted towards that 20 percent affordability threshold.

Previously detailed components of the project include 135,000 square feet of commercial space, including 75,000 square feet of offices on the site’s west side. The supermarket is expected to span 30,000 to 50,000 square feet.

Open space will make up 28 percent of the site, an increase from the statutory minimum of 20 percent. There will be four plazas.

The redevelopment enjoys support from community members who favor affordable housing and the return of a supermarket to the area. BDP president Mike Marmis told The Real Deal that the firm had met with hundreds of local residents to discuss the project.

Montclair declared the site an “area in need of redevelopment” eight years ago. The Hampshire Companies and Pinnacle Companies received approval in 2019 to build a 217,000-square-foot complex, but neighborhood opposition still nixed it.

BDP acquired the site from its previous developer, Brian Stolar, after years of public backlash against the latter’s ideas. Marmis declined to share the acquisition cost.

Still unknown is which grocer will fill the supermarket space, which Pathmark once occupied. A councilor announced that Amazon Fresh was under consideration and railed against the costliness of the retailer. BDP didn’t disclose if a tenant had been lined up.

— Holden Walter-Warner