Township to Break Ground on Springfield Avenue Project

Correction: the planning board engineer who signed off on the plans is Robert E. Bratt, Maplewood Planning Board Consultant.

The township has announced plans to break ground on a mixed-use residential and commercial building at 1611 Springfield Ave. in Maplewood on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 10 a.m. 

The project, which has been in the works for several years, will feature 5,275 square feet of retail space on the ground floor as well as six apartments on the second floor.

Daibes Gas 14 LLC, a subsidiary of Daibes Enterprises of Edgewater will construct the building, to be located on a triangular plot of land across the street from the Police & Courts Building and from Walgreens on Burnett Avenue.

In addition, there will be 15 parking spaces in the lot behind the proposed building, six of which will be for use by tenants.

The apartments will consist of four one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments, said Danny Daibes, vice president of Daibes Enterprises. 

“The (main) retail tenant will be a bagel store/deli,” said Daibes.  He did not release the name of the tenant, as the deal has not been finalized. Two other tenants will join the deli.

The project should be completed within 8-10 months, he added. 

“The Daibes development on the southeast corner at Burnett will join Walgreens and the Police and Court Building in anchoring the eastern portion of Springfield Avenue,” said Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca. “The mixed residential and commercial building will also help increase residential density on Springfield Avenue, a goal we gave been pursuing for some time. I believe we will be able to use this development project to attract others to the avenue. It is a positive addition.” 

The project was approved in January 2012, but was held up by additional design and engineering requirements. Maplewood’s planning board engineer, Robert E. Bratt, P.E., P.P., Maplewood Planning Board Consultant, signed off on the plans in October.