Just over two years ago, 3709 Park Ave. in Union City was the home of Lacka Safe. The one-story building had office spaces in front and a warehouse space on the side that Weehawkenite Ken Papile would always drive by on his way about town.
Papile started a wholesale apparel company called Trend Source around eight years ago, and at first he ran it from his Weehawken home. As time went on, his business grew, and each time he drove by 3709, he thought, “This would be perfect for my business.”
Fortunately for him, the property was put up for sale two years ago. He contacted the broker who said they’d received a few offers. Seven months later, the broker called Papile and said the offers had fallen through, and asked him to make an offer.
“I low-balled them, and they took it,” Papile said. “I think it was just meant to be.”
But Papile’s motivation to purchase the building went beyond the need to expand his own business.
“This will be the first building on Park to have ground-level office spaces,” he said. “I am completely in love with this area and I think it has so much potential. My whole goal is to continue to improve the landscape of Park Avenue.”
The mayors of both Weehawken and Union City have said in recent years that they’d like to see Park Avenue become a more visible and vibrant business district.
Up and coming on the Ave.
“When you look on Park Avenue on both sides, there are very few empty stores,” Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner said last week. “This wasn’t always the case. It’s had some major upgrades over the years and looks completely different than it used to.”
There have been several major additions to the avenue. The Tower Plaza Pathmark has just been renovated, and the exterior has been repainted. The historic water tower in the Plaza was also renovated in the last two years.
Weehawken Township has been working with businesses and land owners over the years to rejuvenate their buildings’ facades. The luxury Union City condos at 44th Street just received facelifts of their own.
The Park Avenue Bar and Grill in Union City on the Weehawken border on Park Avenue has hosted several cultural events.
It’s not all strictly business on the avenue. The Tower Plaza park provides residents with trees and benches surrounding the water tower, and the new Union City water park at 43rd Street is waiting only for warmer weather to begin spouting water onto the local kids.
“Garbanzo’s Mediterranean Grill opened up only about a month after Paula’s at Rigoletto shut down,” Turner said. “Normally there’s around a six-month delay, and I think Park Avenue has survived the financial downturn pretty well.”
“My whole goal is to continue to improve the landscape of Park Avenue.” –Ken Papile
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Saving 3709
As enthusiastic as Papile was about his Park Avenue purchase, it took two years of construction to bring the building up to code.
“There were times when I thought of throwing in the towel,” he admitted, “but that’s what has made it worth it, too.”
Unbeknownst to Papile when he purchased the property, there was a cracked sewage pipe beneath the building and adjacent sidewalks that sent all the rainwater back inside, he said. They also had some oil tank issues and had to bring the electric and plumbing up to code.
Papile’s construction team completely redid the interior spaces. “It was just a big, kind of dirty warehouse before we got to it,” he said.
Now, the building boasts an entry showroom in front with Brazilian hardwood floors, white oak molding on the walls, and a welcoming glass sculpture.
Once past the showroom, there are around five small offices “which could be rented two or three together,” Papile said.
Each office has windows to the outside and into the hallway, intercoms, electronic safety entry codes, replete with modern kitchen area for the businesses to share.
The building will be finished within the next few weeks, Papile said.
“The location is one of the best kept secrets around,” Papile added. “My plan is to attract new businesses and entrepreneurs with the dream and the vision to move in to stay.”
Future plans
The side warehouse has 140-foot custom-made carriage doors that open out. “We’ll see how these first offices go, and one day down the line perhaps a coffee house or something like that will take the warehouse space,” Papile said. “Just think of how beautiful it would be to open those doors and have open-air seating.”
Eventually, he may consider adding more floors to the building.
“The idea is to prove that Park Avenue is a great place to run a business,” Papile said, “and hopefully it will start a trend that continues to build out the area.”
“This is the sort of endeavor we encourage,” Turner said. “A building like this that brings more activity and business to the area will ensure that the whole street is constantly improving.”
Gennarose Pope may be reached at gpope@hudsonreporter.com.