News from Trenton Lofts

March 2007	Trenton Lofts Newsletter Real Estate, Arts & Politics
	Dear Dan, It's March and that means I missed a month on Trenton Lofts news. You didn't miss much. Here's a few newsbits and maybe a couple of rumors. Broad St. Bank Golden Swan Restaurants in downtown Spring Forward The Whittaker And More ...

First The Rumous

Progress at the Golden Swan

We have an exciting rumor/update on The Golden Swan project at Front and S. Warren in downtown Trenton. The ground floor retail space is leased to a restaurant and at least one lawyer's office on the 2nd floor. In addition there will be 4 residential lofts which aren't yet for rent.

Sniping about Trenton Town Center

Not so exciting is a rumored conflict between the City of Trenton and the developers of The Trenton Town Center which includes The Bell Building.

I don't want to get into specifics but it appears as though the developer is upset that the city isn't following through on promises.

More trentonlofts.com

New Restaurant Options

Downtown Trenton is almost hopping.

We're having quite an explosion of new restaurants in downtown Trenton. All of the following are Trenton Lofts sampled and approved:

The Archives at the Marriott: 1 W. Lafayette St.: Sometimes the service is a little slow, but the room is beautiful and has a lovely patio and courtyard.
Cafe Ole: 126 S. Warren St: Trenton's arts hang-out. There's a reason we don't have a Starbucks --- we don't need one.
Rainbow Town: 111 S. Warren St.: The best Chinese in Trenton. The eat-in facilities are nice enough for a relaxing meal.
Tandoori by Nature: 13 E. Front St.: Indian food with Trenton sized portions and very friendly owners.
Settimo Cielo: 17 E. Front St.: Currently the best restaurant in Trenton. Settimo is attracting diners from Yardley, West Windsor, Princeton and committed regulars in Trenton. Michelle and I went on a tear for a while, eating at Settimo Cielo at least once a week.
Checkers: 14 S. Warren St.: Downtown Trenton's official burger and pork roll joint.

Soon to be added to downtown's roster are:

Chicken 'n Waffles: I really don't understand this concept yet but I did look inside the store today and it's really nice. I mean they've spent some bucks on high back upholstered chairs and decorative tables.
Gilmore's Cafe: Will be opening at 118 S. Warren and will be a 2nd sandwich option on the block.

That's eight restaurants within one block of each other in Trenton. It's noteworthy that they're all near the Broad St. Bank, Passage Theatre, The War Memorial, The Old Barracks, The NJ State Museum, Mill Hill and the State Capitol.

Heck if you blink, you might miss Trenton turning into a vibrant city.

Trenton Downtowner article on Settimo Ciello

April is the new February!

Move in at the Broad St. Bank

The latest update from Bayview on The Broad St. Bank has folks moving in in April. I've gotten confirmation on the date from all corners, including one of the Trenton Lofts regulars who has a friend from his office with an official move in date of April 1.

Great news!

Broad St. Bank on Trenton Lofts

Adams One

Big Unit Available

There is one very large ground floor (1400sqft) 2BR unit available for rent at Adams One. The owner will consider month-to-month rental with a nice discount. It's also for sale @ $149,000 which is a pretty good deal. The realtor is. Jay Smith of Weidel Real Estate.

More at Trentonlofts.com

The Whittaker

It's one step closer

Leewood Development has overcome another hurdle on its way to developing The Whittaker in Mill Hill. Because the developer is seeking to use NJHMFA subsidized housing funding they must receive approval from Trenton City Council. According to Leewood, they have promised to not seek approval from City Council until they have approval from the Old Mill Hill Society.

After much heated debate in the OMHS, Leewood recieved approval from the group. There will be 6 affordable housing units in the project and 34 market rate. The market rate units will also receive special financing from NJHFMA that will provide a purchase subsidy in the form of a loan to the buyer against any appreciation in the unit (it's complicated but the loan subsidy is optional).

Leewood is backing off of its original plan to build $350,000 condos in the Whittaker and is leaning towards $200,000 price points. Of course upgrades will be available and the comparable pricing in the neighborhood will still support the higher price points. That said, buying a $200,000 - $250,000 condo in Mill Hill will be quite a bargain.

A few hurdles are yet to be overcome including getting title to the property, actually getting council approval and NJHMFA approval.

More at Trentonlofts.com

Spring Forward

presented by TAWA

Saturday March 24 & Sunday March 25

The Trenton Artists Workshop Association (TAWA) presents the fourth annual Spring Forward weekend of new art at two important cultural venues in Trenton, NJ.

The project is designed to highlight new art and to bring artists together to create new work and opportunities:

March 24th event at The Trenton City Museum in Ellarslie Mansion in Cadwalader Park in Trenton,

12:30 PM - a public reception;
1:00 PM - readings by writers from US One Poets and Ragged Sky Press;
2:00 PM - reading by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon; and
3:30 PM - concert by internationally recognized pianist and Trenton native Orrin Evans, who will include a musical tribute to his father, late nationally respected and Trenton based playwright Don Evans;

March 25th program will be held at Artworks, 19 Everett Alley at Stockton Street in Trenton and center around an exhibition of new work by celebrated New Jersey artist Mel Leipzig,

All events are open to the public and are free. For more information call 609-213-2918.

Hidden Trenton debuts