At its Wednesday, July 5 meeting, Summit Common Council voted to exercise its option to end negotiations and terminate the conditional designation agreement with the redevelopers involved in the Broad Street West Redevelopment Project. The decision represents a significant change in course for the redevelopment project initiative.

In a prepared statement Council President Greg Vartan explains: “After extensive deliberation and a thorough evaluation of the project's progress over the past three years, we have reached the conclusion that dissolving the designation of developers was necessary to achieve the best outcome for the city and its residents. Council is taking this step today to end the conditional designation agreement with the developers because we do not believe it is possible that a redevelopment agreement can be successfully negotiated.”

In 2019 and by unanimous vote, Common Council conditionally designated Broad Street West Managers, a partnership of L&M and Toll Brothers, as the redevelopers for the project. The Summit community largely objected to the project proposal for Subdistrict 3 that was introduced in February 2022. The main public concerns were the substantial size of the project, the questionable financial gain for the municipality, and inadequate parking provisions. Over the past year and without satisfactory resolution, the city had been negotiating in good faith with the redevelopers to create a project that is in full compliance with the redevelopment plan.

More information on the Broad Street West Redevelopment Project and the City of Summit is available on the city website.