The developer, MWD Star Group LLC, of Closter, New Jersey, will be able to close the deal to buy the property from its current owners when the Orangetown Planning Board, the lead agency in their approval process, gives its final approval. All conditions required by both boards have been largely resolved to the Planning Board’s satisfaction. At the most recent meeting on February 8th, it was determined that the developers will put in streetlights, and their map will be signed off when light specs are received from Orange and Rockland and the map is amended accordingly. No more board meetings will be required, and the final approval will be secure once the street light scheme is added to the plan.

In early February Keith Michaels, a principal of MWD Star Group, told 10964 that he expects to close the deal without any further delays and to begin construction this spring.

Lengthy Approval Process

Over the past year, local Palisades residents have actively presented their concerns regarding many aesthetic, drainage and landscaping issues at ACABOR and Planning Board hearings. In April, 2005, 56 conditions to be met were listed in an 18-page Planning Board document. In response, MWD Star Group made some changes including a reduction in the number of lots from 17 to 16 to give more protection to the wetlands area towards the back of the tract and to move a water detention basin 10 feet away from the western edge of the property line so as not to kill the neighbor’s trees by driving heavy equipment over their roots. In July of 2005, ACABOR (The Architecture & Community Appearance Board of Review) gave its approval to the subdivision, subject to additional conditions. As a result, the developers made concessions regarding the size and appearance of a berm that will be created between the houses and Route 9W.

Developers’ Plans for New Homes

Michaels said that it is still “an open question” whether MWD will be the builder, or whether some other party will undertake that task. The houses are planned to sell for $2 million and up, and to be 5,000 square feet and up in size. Although there is no river view, Michaels expects that “the unique environment, fine community and convenient location near Manhattan” would be sufficient value to attract buyers at that price range for these houses. He stressed his interest in “controlling the environment created for the new neighborhood”, and that that would also “add value”. Michaels is a partner in the architectural firm of Michaels and Waldron Architects, of Edgewater, NJ as well as a developer and he hopes to design all the houses himself. However, he held out the possibility that buyers of individual lots might be able to hire their own architects, and that he “wants to respect native plant materials” on each one-acre lot—presumably the pre-existing trees and bushes.

And what will these new houses look like? Unlike most residential architectural firms, Michaels and Waldron Architects does not appear to maintain a website to attract clients or present their aesthetic approach to house design. A Google search did not turn up any references to single-family residences designed by them in any context. However, Michaels’ partner, Robert E. Waldron, was the architect for Diamond Beach, a 96-unit, 7-story residential complex in Long Branch, NJ. (a struggling Jersey shore town just north of Asbury Park) that was profiled in Atlanticville, Long Branch’s local newspaper, in 2003.

The plans for the Diamond Beach development called for a façade made of white stucco and quartz crystal on floors one through six, with clear, nonreflective, insulated glass, so that “the crystal will reflect, sparkle and shine in the sun,” according to Waldron. A 27,000-square-foot roof garden was planned for the roof, and the roofline of the building was planned to have an unusual shape, to “seem as though eight consecutive waves are cresting” and the roof areas, including the top of the wave design, were to be colored light blue and green. No mention was made in the article regarding the proposed landscaping, or whether it would respect native plant materials.

Real Estate Market Outlook

So will these $2 million houses sell? And when? This uncertainty has fueled an active rumor mill about the ultimate fate of the 9W Golf development. Some locals are even wondering if the entire $14 million parcel might be coming up for sale again, or be “flipped”, with its changed use status adding substantial value even before the first brick has been laid. The one thing that can be said for sure is that the land is very desirable. Although one area realtor claims that houses at this price point are selling well, other knowledgeable observers are inclined to be more pessimistic. It’s not hard to notice that a number of $2 million houses with historic charm and a river view have been for sale for months, even years, in Palisades. By the time these new, less-advantaged ones get through the lengthy Historic boards approval process, the boom could really be over.