For some residents, the signs in the windows of Irwin’s Discount Department Store on Broadway were a little misleading.
While some people knew the signs saying “Buy Bayonne,” meant the store was closing, albeit spelled wrong, others – who could not imagine Bayonne without Irwin’s – thought it was a gimmick to promote the Broadway shopping district.
But city officials said the closing was forecasted several months ago when the property owner asked that the property located at the northeastern corner at Broadway and East. 22 Street be included in the city’s redevelopment zone.
That meant that it would likely be sold to new owners and redeveloped.
“The proposal was made to us by the owners of the property to develop the property and sell the businesses,” said Council President Vincent Lo Re.
Last year, the city established three redevelopment zones. One was along the Broadway Corridor near the 22nd Street Hudson Bergen Light Rail Station, a second along the Route 440 corridor on the city’s east side, and a scattered site development that included areas throughout the city.
But these did not include Irwin’s or the Carvel ice cream store that shares the property. In mid-October, the city moved to include them.
“The owner of the property asked to be included,” Lo Re said. “We wanted to facilitate redevelopment, so we agreed to include the property in the redevelopment zone.”
A redevelopment distinction could allow new property owners to take advantage of state tax incentives and other benefits under the provision of the state’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.
Although controversial because the law can allow a municipality to seize property under eminent domain, it also can also streamline the process of redevelopment by eliminating many of the overlapping and sometimes conflicting statutes, and replacing them with one set of rules that a redeveloper can follow. A redevelopment zone also allows properties to be brought up to current safety, fire, and health codes.
City officials said Irwin’s and the Carvel buildings – both dating back to the early 1900s – are in need of repair.
Although some suggested the city had pressured owner Irwin Raisch to sell, city officials said this was not the case.
“The city is not forcing anyone out,” Lo Re said. “We have no designs on that property. The owner asked to be included. The sale is private transaction between an owner and the developer.”
Apparently, the inclusion in the new zoning was to act as an incentive to attract a purchaser. No deal has yet been inked.
While the signs have been posted on the windows, the closing date has not yet been set since the store owner intends to sell off the remaining merchandise before closing shop for good.
Fifty years ago
Irwin Rausch, the store owner, was not available for comment. A published report said he and his father, Max, opened the store in November 1951, although his family had been in the “five and ten” store business in Manhattan and Newark before that.
Michael O’Connor, director of the Bayonne Economic Development Corporation, said the city has been working with the two property owners toward redevelopment at that corner.
“Last summer, when we took developers on a tour of the city, one was attracted to that corner,” O’Connor said. “He talked to Irwin, and the other owner and the property owners asked if we would include the property in our scattered sites redevelopment zone, and we did.”
As envisioned, the property would offer a six-story building with ground floor retail, residences on the upper floors, and underground parking.
At this point, Irwin and Vito DiMarco, the owner of the Carvel next to Irwin’s, are in negotiations.
“It is a cooperative effort,” O’Connor said. “No one is forcing anyone out of business.”
Contact Al Sullivan at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com