Photo Courtesy of Chad Hunt Mayor Nancy Adams, left, and Paul Grygiel, a planning and real estate consultant, speak in The Woodland about the township’s redevelopment area.
Mayor Nancy Adams, left, and Paul Grygiel, a planning and real estate consultant, speak in The Woodland about the township’s redevelopment area.
The Great Hall at the Woodland was once again filled with concerned Maplewood residents as the future of the movie theater was discussed.
Mayor Nancy Adams and Paul Grygiel, a planning and real estate consultant, hosted the event and answered questions from attendees about the
Redevelopment Plan Overview, which provides a framework for the potential redevelopment of the properties located within the Block 12.02 Redevelopment Area.
“We listened to what people had to say at prior meetings,” Grygiel said, adding that the plan calls for high quality architecture, thoughtful placemaking, green infrastructure, and carefully preserved historically significant architecture—specifically, the bank building and movie theatre facades, Grygiel said.
“There’s a lot of things people want to see here,” said Grygiel. “Basically preserve its historic character.”
The overall objectives included respecting the existing character of Maplewood Village and the land use context of the Redevelopment Area while optimizing its value to the township. This would include its diversity of buildings and varied building heights; preserving and enhancing the historic character of the Maplewood Village Historic District; and permitting redevelopment and new development consistent with the Redevelopment Area’s pedestrian-friendly mixed-use and transit-oriented setting.
This includes supporting downtown anchors including theater space and a grocery store; providing new housing options, including a mandatory affordable housing component, and continuing to allow a range of retail, commercial and service uses, as well as new uses such as entertainment and recreation spaces.
“We’re trying to make sure there’s uses for property owners that make sense,” said Grygiel.
Ninety percent of the concerns from attendees were about the movie theatre. Some suggested that famous people who came out of Columbia High School—and went to the movie theatre growing up—should be contacted to see if they’d like to get together to “make it happen.”
In response, Grygiel said, “No one’s come forward. Now’s the time to get the word out.”
Another audience member said, “I sincerely hope the theatre comes back. I hope the sign that read ‘Closed Until Further Notice’ is open again.”
An attendee who lived in Maplewood before their first birthday said, “We don’t have anywhere to walk down and watch movies.”
A four-year Maplewood resident said, “We’re a theatre family. My husband’s an actor. We have been so embraced by this community. We have established a reputation as an arts town. My dream would be a multi-use arts place. Having a space like that in the community will bring more and more people to the community.”
A Maplewood filmmaker and actor who was in support of the theatre staying was concerned about how it was going to be paid for. “It’s going to take all of us to get together,” she said. “Can we get grants? Donations? What about famous people who came from Maplewood? We can get together and make this happen. Even before we lived here, we came to the Maplewood theatre.”
A 26-year resident of Maplewood said they fell in love with the Village and asked how much the movie theatre was.
“I’ve heard a wide range of prices,” said Adams.
While the majority of the focus was on the theatre, a resident who moved to Maplewood 51 years ago was concerned about parking. She said, “When I moved here, Maplewood was a village. We moved here for that reason. What’s happening in our community, I can’t park in front of my house. I understand things have to move forward. We have no parking—the alternative to merchant parking.”
In response Adams said, “Parking is an issue for sure in every downtown. The only bad issue with parking is if nobody is parking because nothing is there.”
In conclusion, Grygiel said, “I would like to reiterate, there’s a process. The reality is we’re trying to focus on comments we received and work with the township and try to finalize what would be.”
Adams said, “It’s a plan, it’s not written in stone. Stay tuned, we’re not done.”
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