I think the town needs a parking structure for the permit holders/train commuters.
Maybe a mixed use building - first floor shopping and 2 or 3 levels of parking

I'd like a full-service Post Office in this location. It's an ideal platte for it, the PO provides a wonderful service to residents, and the rent they would pay would generate a nice positive cash flow to the city, as opposed to absurd Planning Department consulting studies and givebacks to any private redevelopment which asked for them resulting in us (again) somehow losing money on a development.

Obviously it is up to Kings, but a larger market would be a great anchor for the other businesses. A reasonably sized pharmacy -- which the town once had -- could go then go into the old Kings location making the village a full service center. Let's keep Maplewood village a village and not build a five story apartment building or office space with a grotesque multilevel parking space.

If done properly, the building should include a commercial ground floor space convertible for either a supermarket or boutique style stores. A 3-4 story high end apartment complex above (including the ground floor). While I'm not of the opinion that Kings needs a new home, the Village Alliance is. That's very important to remember.

I frankly don't give a hoot what moves into that space. I just need to know where the post office is going to be!

The Post office is such an anchor (in the best sense) for the town. We really will need a post office in the village to replace it. That should be factored into any use of the space. Any use that adds parking spaces would be welcome but a parking lot or garage on the spot of the PO could be an eyesore and detract from the special character of the area.

Apple store? Barcade? Open-air market? Beer Garden? Benihana? One thing I'd be against is reserved parking for any particular business/housing that moves in.

A larger Kings would not be a bad idea. Then it's a tax ratable for the town. Kings patrons park in the town lots anyway.

COMMERCIAL RATABLES!! For years Maplewood residents have been getting crushed with ever increasing property taxes while our elected officials scare away the few businesses in town (say good-bye to Verizon & PSEG) In developed close-in suburbs there are few opportunities to re-develop a viable commercial district but Maplewood has/had? one with the old Police Station (now Condos) and the Post Office all near the RR station. What an opportunity to develop a transit centric commerical district -- offices, retail, restaurants ... we needed leadership with Vision not more condos!! and more pressure on the school piece of our property taxes!! Residental ratables support more than 90% of the property tax burden in Maplewood. A viable and sustainable community has a commercial/residential ratio of 30%/70%. Maybe its time for some new thinking and leadership in Maplewood? A good start would be re-instituting the 2 Party system ...

A renovated Post Office sharing the space with small stores and community spaces. What kind? I see: an art bookstore/gallery with an indoor/outdoor cafe; an artisan bakery with fresh bread and pastries; a fresh produce stand with local and organic products; a library satellite space for kids and teenagers; and an alternative fast food joint.

I like the bigger supermarket but parking may need to be addressed. We don't need more apartments as we have a brand new building about to open. Wouldn't mind a hardware store in town.

A larger Kings, for sure, and more parking, either below the new Kings or where the existing Kings is.

a parking garage like Millburn. If people can't find parking, they can't spend money. The village doesn't have enough parking.

A KFC. Or a Chick-Fil-A. Maybe a Hooter's or Tilted Kilt. A tattoo and hair-braiding superstore. Something maybe to attract the Brooklyn Hipsters who have started to choose places on the Hudson with organic freerange rope-your-own white asparagus. Or maybe we do something to attract diversity to the community, like a Wax Museum of Republican Presidents. A Lenei-Lanape cultural center with baccarat and blackjack. A hologramic statue of Elon Musk that will plug in your Tesla car. A monument to the trees that died in Hurricane Sandy. Or howzabout our own version of Stonehenge! Or a Jersey version of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, like the Collossus of Christie, or the Hanging Organic Gardens of Babbling On/monument to the chronics on MOL...

Nothing taller than 2 stories. Build a row of shops to match the buildings on the north side of the street. It should retain that village feel. Parking garages and tall apartment buildings can go on back streets.

It will cease to be a "village" if it has a huge parking garage or 8 story new construction apartment complex.

a row of shops that we don't already have. no more nail salons, mom and pop shops small clothing stores... something new and happening

I just read that Robert Northfield sold it to his brother for $4,000. It's being leveled next week, and will become a very fancy home. :) Sorry... had to throw that in there. But seriously- anything nice that ads parking and is tax rateable and isn't an eyesore if fine! Am I the only person shocked by the size of the new building going up where the charming old police station was? Gulp.

don't forget, there should be more parking if we buy the women's club.

PLEASE whatever happens...NOTHING more than 2 stories...NOTHING. It must have the village feel as someone mentioned above.

The Maplewood Post Office is an important fixture in our town. A town is not a town without a post office. I believe it should stay!

A drugstore and retail post office would be convenient. I always welcome more restaurants.

We don't need more apts/condos in town--this could make the property tax situation worse for the current population.

A few things I didn't like about the Columbia study...
1. they acknowledge Dickens Village as one of the main events in the Village, but Ricalton park does not exist in all 3 of their proposals! This is the cultural highlight of the year for my children in the Winter. Visits to DV inevitably lead to a meal in town and Christmas shopping. How could they have missed this in their plan? In a few proposals, there appears to be a small park next to Village Coffee. This location is almost always shaded and not a good place for a winter destination like DV.

2. All 3 proposals include a parking garage in Memorial Park across the street from the Middle School. Yikes! I hate this idea. If a parking garage is necessary, I would much rather see it go in an existing parking lot area, not in a public park.

Somethings I did like from the study...
1. I saw some mockups of outdoor seating areas for restaurants. Our restaurants are tremendously successful at bringing visitors to our town. Anything that can make them even more awesome, I support.
2. Parking garage behind BofA. I understand the town doesn't own this lot, but I think the location is desirable for parking and would not be too hideous,

There is no low income housing in the Station House building at the former police station. Four of the 50 units are designated affordable. Qualifying incomes are $50,072 for one person, $57,225 for two people, $64,378 for three people and $71,532 for four people. The other 46 units are market rate units.

We know a Post Office will not go there. The Post office department is taking our post office away, why would they replace it with a larger one? Kings has been a fixture in town. Imagine a larger Kings like the Union Store. It would attract people from South Orange. But what about the present Kings site? A TD Bank would be nice on that site. Union has 5 or six TD Bank branches but somehow ignores Maplewood.
If all else fails put a Walgreen’s and 7 11 in the present Kings site. Only joking about Walgreen’s and 7-11. I think they are trying to put those stores within walking distance of everyone) Everyone should write a letter or send an e-mail to TD Bank about the apparent snub. Six branches in Union none in Maplewood!

Moomers...

Maybe one should start a petition to save the Post Office branch in the village: as part of the new development, or at a different location in the Village: like the Women's Club for instance, since that's now Maplewood's property. Quoting from the 'Urban Design Lab' report for the post office site "Although it was not until 1947 that Maplewood obtained an independent post office and 1958 before a post office building was built in the town. The inclusion of the Post Office brought a new anchor to the site that increased the economic stabiliy of Maplewood Village and its surrounding neighborhood."

My vote is for some useful stores that people really need and will turn a profit: pharmacy and hardware store. I would love not to have to drive to get to these.

Yes, the only things Maplewood Village is missing is a pharmacy and hardware. A post office is considered an anchor too. So I think a "General Store" that includes pharmacy, hardware and a post office. I think that would become a destination. Has anyone been to Kaplers Pharmacy down on Long Beach Island? It's an "experience", the pharmacists actually get out from behind the counter and help you with all sorts of holistic products that they carry and you can get prescriptions there too. Yes, leave room for Dickens Village too, the Village depends on that.

The building should be demolished, substituted by a big, deep pit where we can all drop our tax checks.

We need a vision for Maplewood Ave and Springfield Ave. we should put utility based services like the post office, hardware store, larger grocery stores on Springfield Ave. desirable retail stores and restaurants should go on Maplewood Ave. Just look to Montclair and Westfield for good examples of sustainable and desirable retail offerings. Another dollar store on Springfield Ave is disgraceful. 711, dollar stores, Burger King... We can do better than this. We are in need of some real leadership do we can improve the entire town and get tax revenue!

A few years back, the town made a significant investment in a "vision" for Springfield Avenue, trying to give it more of a village "feel" by impeding traffic flow/speed. The stakeholders in that area approved of this- I didn't, but I wasn't consulted, of course. While Springfield Avenue may be superior to how it was 20 years ago, it's not better than it was 5 years ago. Finally, I don't know where all of this dissing of new car dealerships comes from- it's my understanding they paid a lot of property taxes, including on their inventory.

I have said at some of the public meeting that the TC should have an architectural competition for the site. They seem to only be interested in developers. that's why we have the vanilla/plastic building going up near the train station. This is a very important site, and will make or break the town.
My vision, which I have also expressed at meetings - Kings's should go into a large basement of a new building with their storefront & entry facing the downhill side of the site (across from the Village coffee shop). That's where you see the windows of the lower level of the Post Office now. A large supermarket at ground level level will be too large a scale for M Village. If a basement market is good enough for the tremendously successful Whole Foods in the basement the Time Warner Building in NY then it should be good for King's.
2 to 2 1/2 stories, depending on height abovegrade is about all Maplewood can handle without M Ave. becoming a tunnel. In those floors there should be some retail spaces, maybe offices at the top, with a large skylit (glass at top) courtyard in the middle for locals to hang out, drink coffee, read paper, visit or wait for the train. We have no indoor public space right now in town. This public space should have a "green" path from the back to the train underpasses allowing easy through access. The building could be a magnet for the town.
Anyone want to seriously discuss? email me - winkydink050@aol.com

Lee,
What you are saying sure makes sense. However, the crap they are building in Jersey City isn't the sample we should be looking at. Maplewood requires quality. We can't be defeatist here. Maplewood Village is still a very special and unusual town center. The village is one of the most unique around. Can you think of another that you can only get to through small streets of historic homes? No main drag like SO Ave or Millburn Ave. This is not urban like So. Orange or Montclair or even Westfield - which are the towns the TC keep mentioning. It is little Maplewood. If the TC members are reading any of this, and they should be, then they should know that their shenanigans with the Police Building add up to a fiasco. Dozens of architects and concerned citizens came to meetings to object and offer solutions. But the blinders were on and the TC did what THEY thought was best for us. Developers are not good for Maplewood. That fiasco was supposed to bring in lots of money - Oh but then they turned around and bought the Womens Club basically with that money....and my taxes are going up?
If the TC members would stop and think about the fact that they are supposed to REPRESENT us, then they might consider listening to what the smart people of Maplewood have to say.

Just don't build higher than two stories. Don't destroy the age-old character of the town center.