County sells off 2 pieces of Hilltop

Hovnanian deal brings nearly $18M

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

The Essex County Improvement Authority announced the sale of two parcels of Hilltop land to developers yesterday, putting nearly $18 million in county coffers and clearing the way for new home construction this spring.

The conveyance, which was finalized last Wednesday, is the largest Hilltop transaction to date and the first to developers, giving county officials hope that the long and complicated land sale may finally be entering the home stretch.

"I look forward to the day when we're no longer discussing Hilltop," Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold said yesterday. "I have the feeling we're really moving forward."

However, both builders and local officials acknowledged yesterday that Hilltop still has a long way to go. Last week's sale moved 80 acres, but the majority of the 240-acre Hilltop tract -- including the former county jail annex in North Caldwell and the Essex County Hospital property in Cedar Grove -- is still pending final sale.

In addition, developer K. Hovnanian's plan for one of the parcels has yet to be approved by the Cedar Grove planning board, a critical step in the property's development.

"There's still a lot more to go," said North Caldwell Borough Administrator John Kosko.

Hilltop -- which stretches across pieces of Caldwell, North Caldwell, Cedar Grove and Verona -- was first pegged for development in 1995 when the county sold the land to the Essex County Improvement Authority in order to plug a budget gap. The deal was unpopular in the four towns, but after years of wrangling over what would be built, a deal finally was reached with builders in early 2002.

Still, the local approvals process moved slowly and none of the $60 million purchase price was paid to the ECIA until last week, when K. Hovnanian handed over a check for $17.8 million and took control of two parcels.

The parcels, which incorporate pieces of land in all four towns, will be the site of new single-family homes. Jim Driscoll, president of K. Hovnanian's metro New York region, said the first areas to be developed will be in North Caldwell and Caldwell, where a total of 26 homes will be built along Mountain Avenue. Driscoll said the company has applied for its final water and sewer permits from the state and hopes to have a shovel in the ground by late spring or early summer.

Development of the second parcel, on the other hand, is still contingent on final approval from the Cedar Grove planning board. K. Hovnanian plans to build 51 homes along Fairview Avenue in Verona and Cedar Grove and said it is confident the board will give its approval after one or two more hearings.

But Cedar Grove Mayor Joseph Chiusolo said the town is not going to "rubber stamp" the development just because the land has been sold to K. Hovnanian.

"Taking the property and transferring it to the developer does not guarantee anything," Chiusolo said. "I'm not saying I think there's going to be a problem, but I don't know what the board is going to decide."

The properties conveyed last week are the third and fourth Hilltop parcels to be sold. In August, Cedar Grove paid $275,000 and took control of two Hilltop pieces set aside for open space and playing fields.

According to ECIA Executive Director James Paganelli, last week's payment leaves about $13 million of the $44.5 million bond debt the ECIA took on when it bought the property in 1995. Paganelli said he hopes to convey two more parcels to developers this year.

The county also turned over yesterday an additional nine acres of Hilltop land to Verona for recreation. The land already has been paid for by a 2003 state grant that gave Essex $3.85 million to preserve 44 acres of open space.

Jonathan Casiano covers Cedar Grove and Verona.
He can be reached at jcasiano@starledger.com.