The developers at 161 Maplewood Investors, Reed Kean (son of former NJ Governor Thomas Kean and brother of NJ Congressman Thomas Kean Jr.) and Octavio Mendes, plan to build a 5 story, 65 unit, luxury apartment building behind the old bank building on the corner of Maplewood Ave and Inwood Place.

So far, the Township Committee of Maplewood has not approved the 65 units, so to circumvent this, the developers are suing Maplewood, claiming that Maplewood has not met its obligations to provide affordable housing.

This is untrue. According to The NJ Affordable Housing Alliance, Maplewood has ALWAYS complied with and fulfilled its obligations to provide affordable housing. 

We feel that there has been a severe lack of transparency in the progression of this deal. We do not understand why the residents of Maplewood were not properly informed of this development, or why we were not given a voice in shaping what would be a huge and fundamental change to Maplewood Village.

We believe in preserving the quality of life for all 25,000 residents of Maplewood, and believe this redevelopment would have a direct, negative impact on that quality of living.

The parking situation in Maplewood Village continues to get worse and worse. To the point that the village is considering implementing paid parking within the village. We believe that the addition of 65 units would only serve to further the congestion, traffic, and parking issues within Maplewood Village. To this date, there have been no studies done on what effect this redevelopment would have upon traffic, parking, and congestion within Maplewood Village. Nor what effect the 2 years of planned construction in the heart of Maplewood Village would have.

Maplewood has long stood out in our commitment to maintaining the historic charm, look and feel of our village. It is what makes our home stand out and makes it so attractive to people wanting to move here. We feel that this planned redevelopment fundamentally changes the feel of downtown Maplewood. Turning us from a village into a small city. Furthermore, this redevelopment would surely open the door to more and more  luxury apartments within Maplewood. 

We want to let our elected officials know that we, as residents of Maplewood, do not want this development and that we want our voices heard in any planned redevelopment of Maplewood Village.

Please join us in working to preserve the Maplewood that we all know and love.

LET’S SAVE OUR VILLAGE.