WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Historic Preservation Commission, Prism Capital Partners and the township administration are now on the same page after representatives from all the groups met Oct. 21 to sort out confusion as to whether Prism is using the correct plans for its Edison Village project.
According to Mayor Robert Parisi, the representatives realized that Prism has been using the drawings approved by the HPC and the West Orange Planning Board. But, Parisi said, Prism did make some minor architectural modifications to the plans, such as making a feature curved when it originally had been straight, and placing one detail at the top of the building differently than the HPC had wanted. He said those changes went unnoticed by the township when the company submitted them, so the administration never alerted the HPC to them. The commission eventually did spot the changes though, later announcing during the Sept. 6 Township Council meeting that Prism was using the wrong plans.
At the Oct. 21 meeting, Parisi said the commission and Prism representatives were able to work out most of their differences and agree about what should be included in the drawings. He also stressed that no malicious intent ever factored into the situation — the confusion was merely the result of a simple mistake.
“It was just a miscommunication,” Parisi told the West Orange Chronicle in an Oct. 24 phone interview. “It got resolved on Friday. We’ll get these final pieces put together in the next week or so and keep moving the project forward.”
Parisi said the only major issue that still has to be addressed is what material will be used for the building’s facade. HPC Vice Chairman Martin Feitlowitz previously told the council that the commission wants cast stone — smooth, rectangular stone blocks — for the project, while Prism prefers fieldstone, which consists of rocks of various sizes pieced together. The mayor said both sides are still discussing the matter and should reach a conclusion soon.
Feitlowitz did not mention the specifics of HPC’s discussions with Prism in an Oct. 24 statement to the Chronicle, saying the commission would address the matter after its issues have been resolved. He did say that the meeting with the company and the township was “productive” and that “progress is being made by all parties to appropriately address (our) concerns in a timely manner.”
Prism Principal Partner Eugene Diaz did not respond to request for comment before press time Oct. 25.
All the modifications agreed upon by Prism and the HPC will eventually be included in the documents the company will submit for a construction permit. Parisi said the township has only granted foundation permits for the building so far — no permit was granted covering any of the design elements involved in the confusion. He does not know when Prism will submit its construction permit application, but he pointed out that no time has been lost on the project schedule.
Overall, Parisi said the meeting went a long way toward sorting everything out, and all parties will continue to communicate. Yet that does not mean that the township is unwilling to hold progress meetings with Prism, which is what Feitlowitz urged at the Sept. 6 council meeting.
“The township made it clear on Friday that we’ll meet as often as anyone wants to meet,” Parisi said. “That’s going to remain an open invitation.
“But once the handful or more of these design elements get resolved, there’s not much more that needs to be resolved,” he continued. “Most of them have been resolved already.”
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