Paterson housing project stalled, so developer says, ‘I’d like to buy it’
PATERSON — A real estate investor who proposed building a $50 million, 127-unit housing project near Hinchliffe Stadium has put the property up for sale, and prominent Paterson developer Charles Florio said he may buy it.
The lofts development has been one of the projects Mayor Andre Sayegh highlighted in the last 22 months as part of his effort to revitalize the Great Falls area.
Paterson’s Planning Board approved the development in January 2022, but there has been little progress since then.
‘Beyond frustrated’
Property owner Billy Procida said he began advertising the sale of the land several months ago.
“I’m beyond frustrated,” Procida told Paterson Press in an interview on Monday. “This was going to be my swan song and then I was going to retire.”
But Procida said he has run into difficulties with two of the government programs he planned to use to pay for the project.
The investor said the federal government has turned down his request for historic preservation tax credits because he demolished what he described as an insignificant boiler building on the site.
Also, he said, the state Economic Development Authority changed provisions of its ASPIRE tax credit program that made it impractical to use for funding.
On top of those problems, Procida said he was upset with the lack of progress on the Vista Park that the city was supposed to build next to his land.
“It looks like a garbage dump,” he said of the littered Vista land. “I can’t put a $50 million project next to that.”
Sayegh administration officials did not respond to questions about Procida’s putting his land up for sale.
Florio, who affectionately says Procida is like an uncle to him, said he sees value in the lofts project property, which sits about three long blocks northeast of the Great Falls.
“If nobody steps in, I’ll call Uncle Billy and tell him I’d like to buy it from him,” Florio said.
Florio said he thinks Procida may be struggling to move ahead on the lofts development because of the national real estate downturn.
“Billy Procida is not a pretender,” Florio proclaimed. “This guy changed neighborhoods in the Bronx. He has all the expertise you need.”
Connection to Art Factory
Procida acquired the property at 468 Totowa Ave. in June 2021 for $5.5 million from David Garsia, owner of the socalled Art Factory complex on the south side of the Great Falls.
Garsia in 2017 took out a loan from Procida to renovate the Art Factory, a group of old industrial buildings now used as banquet halls, film and production studios and arts-related shops.
Garsia said the sale of the Totowa Avenue property was part of his repayment of that loan.
Councilman Michael Jackson, who represents the 1st Ward, where the “lofts” property is, said he isn’t surprised Procida’s development proposal has stalled.
“He probably thought he was going to be able to squeeze more out of this administration,” Jackson said.
“This is just another means to overpopulate the city without any concerns for the people and city services.”
Garsia also has advertised a possible sale of his Art Factory buildings on Spruce Street, something he said he started doing in August.
“I wanted to see if there was any market out there,” Garsia said.
But so far, there has been little interest from investors, he said.
“I think I’m going to stay here for the long haul, and stick it out another 10 years,” Garsia said. “I think maybe Paterson is done with this development cycle.”
Meanwhile, Procida spoke optimistically about Paterson, even while he is looking to sell.
“That building is the linchpin to that part of Paterson,” he said. “Somebody with a lot of patience will make a lot of money on that property.”