Netherwood on my mind

Postcard view of C.R.R.N.J's Netherwood Station.

The fate of the long-empty Netherwood Station is never far from the minds of many in Plainfield, including myself.

For a variety of reasons, the station has not had a tenant since it was restored and placed on the National and State registers of historic places in the early 1990s.

So, it caught my eye when the Ledger ran a story this morning concerning plans to turn NJT's Upper Montclair station -- also small, also historic -- into a restaurant. The station had a serious fire in February, 2006 (see the Montclair Times story and photo here, where I learned that NJT leases the station to Montclair, which subleases it to the tenant) so it is particularly noteworthy the station is getting a new start.

Of interest were some details from the process --

[The bidder's] was the winning proposal in a contest that last March drew some two dozen entrepreneurs to Montclair's council chambers to hear of NJ Transit's request for proposals for the station, which is on the state and national registers of historic places.

"We are thrilled with Notch wood's proposal," Penny Bassett- Hackett, a spokeswoman for NJ Transit, said yesterday. "They have a deep background in rehabilita tion and reconstruction combined with restaurants, so this process has really culminated into what will be a good addition to Montclair." (Emphasis added.)

They had a contest?

Now that's a great idea!

Maybe someone (the Robinson-Briggs administration? the Chamber of Commerce? the Plainwood Square Merchants Association? FOSH?) can suggest to New Jersey Transit that they conduct a contest to remedy the Queen City's lack of a tenant in this historic and busy station.

Would be nice wouldn't it?

NJT's Upper Montclair station is to become a restaurant.

-- Dan Damon

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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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