Rough Timeline Set for Early Street Apartment Project

Mill Creek Residential Trust broke ground on Tuesday for Phase I at 32 Early St., which will become the new location of Latitude, luxury rentals.

The firm began demolishing homes and removing debris and brush in January to clear the land. Demolition has finished and the groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of construction. 

Rich Murphy, Mill Creek Residential Managing Director, said that Mill Creek got involved in the project about five years ago. He expects it to be ready in about a year and a half

“Over the next year and a half, there’s going to be a lot of activity here,” said Murphy. “You can see we’ve already broke ground. We’ve completed our remediation. A whole lot of demolition has taken place.” He gave a rough timeline:

• 2-3 months—Concrete garages will be poured
• August—“We’ll be coming up out of the ground with our framing
• End of 2013—“It’ll be completely framed in.”
• Late summer 2014—First units will be delivered

“We’ll be back here again in a little over a year for ribbon cutting,” said Murphy. “We’ll be back here for ground breaking for phase II. We’ve already started that process with the town. Phase II will be where the existing ambulance squad is located now. That will include our second building of about 200 units. It will include a neighborhood park and really complete the extension of Prospect … where it comes down and connects to Early Street.”

Mill Creek Residential is also the designated redeveloper of the next two phases of the Speedwell Avenue Redevelopment Area, with the design of Phase II now underway with a 2014 start of construction anticipated.

“Initiation of Phase 1 construction highlights the successful partnership between Mill Creek Residential and the Town of Morristown in working together on this great revitalization effort,” said Murphy. "It’s a breath of fresh air where developer and town can work together instead of fighting. I'm very comfortable that we'll be able to finish this phase, move on to Phase II and III and finish out this neighborhood on very short order."

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• Speedwell Redevelopment Phase I Work Begins
• Groundbreaking Planned for Speedwell Luxury Apts