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The Morristown Parking Authority (MPA) has been trying for a decade to redevelop the back parking lot of the Morristown Train Station into a mixed-use “transit-oriented” commercial and residential building.
On Tuesday, 2/22/2022, the MPA filed a suit against New Jersey Transit (NJT) for the demand of $1 million to develop that back parking lot into a “transit-oriented” building.
The MPA would still provide 72 spaces for train station parking (they currently provide 101 in that back parking lot), but NJT added a “financial component” that started the disagreement. MPA said the $1 million ask along with rising costs of construction materials would “stop the project in its tracks.”
NJT has state mandates to increase revenue through property sales or brokerage agreements with developers for land (such as parking lots) around train stations. The mandates come from NJ's push for “transit-oriented development” to reduce traffic by building housing within walking distance of public transportation.
Morristown Minute recently reported on Gov. Murphy’s announcement of a large investment into the Transit Village Program. This suit is directly related to NJs investment in housing around public transportation.
New Jersey towns, like Morristown since 1999, participate in the transit village program which provides incentives for developing mixed-use residential and commercial buildings near train stations and bus park-and-ride stops. The goal of the program is to reduce traffic by building housing within walking distance of public transportation.
The plan to redevelop the back parking lot would turn what NJ Transit currently advertises as a total of 579 parking spaces into 550 spaces.
The suit between NJT and MPA will hold up the redevelopment project and Morristown residents likely won’t see construction begin for some time.
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*The Gov.’s investment will also bring self-driving minibusses to NJ!
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