Four vacant Hubbell Avenue lots, a blighted New Market Street building and school-route safety grants top Monday’s agenda
SALEM, N.J. – The Salem City Council will take up the sale of four city-owned lots for redevelopment and a nearly $175,000 contract to demolish 25 New Market St. when it holds its caucus meeting Monday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Two ordinances are up for first reading and introduction, with public hearings set for the council’s next meeting on Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m. Four resolutions covering a school-route safety grant, a substance-use prevention grant, the demolition contract and a transfer of utility sale proceeds will be voted on together as a consent agenda. Any council member can ask to pull a resolution from the group and have it voted on separately.
Hubbell Avenue lots
The biggest item is Ordinance 26-25, which would sell four city-owned lots on Hubbell Avenue to FAS Estates, LLC for $8,000. The lots are:
- Block 15, Lot 9 (50 Hubbell Ave.)
- Block 18, Lot 7 (114-116 Hubbell Ave.)
- Block 18, Lot 13 (126 Hubbell Ave.)
- Block 17, Lot 8 (78-80 Hubbell Ave.)
The buyer would have to rehabilitate or construct single-family homes on the property and sign a redevelopment agreement with the city. The ordinance would name FAS Estates the designated redeveloper.
The sale would not go out for public bid. State law allows municipalities to sell property without bidding, at prices and terms they consider reasonable, as long as the sale is tied to a redevelopment plan. Council declared the entire city an Area in Need of Rehabilitation in December 2013 and adopted a redevelopment plan in June 2022. The mayor, administrator or city clerk could sign the sale and redevelopment agreements, which would be kept on file in the clerk’s office and open for public viewing during business hours.
Adopt-A-Lot changes
Ordinance 26-24 would amend Chapter 66 of the city code, which governs the Adopt-A-Lot Program. Council adopted the current chapter in March 2025.
Right now, Salem residents 18 and older, and Salem-based organizations or groups, can petition the city’s Department of Inspections to adopt a lot next to property they own or rent. Under the amendment, any organization, including qualifying nonprofits, community groups and for-profit entities, could petition to adopt an eligible lot, as could Salem residents 18 and older. The city would decide which lots are eligible. The changes would take effect on final passage and publication.
New Market Street demolition
Resolution 2026-267 would award the demolition of 25 New Market St. to Hook Construction of Pennsville for a base bid of $174,999.99. Five companies submitted bids on Oct. 1. The city clerk and the city’s brownfields consultant reviewed them, and the consultant recommended Hook as the lowest responsible bidder.
The city’s chief financial officer has certified that the money is available from a state Department of Community Affairs demolition loan. The mayor and clerk would be authorized to sign the contract in a form approved by the city solicitor.
Safe Routes to School
Resolution 2026-266 supports an application to the state Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program. The money would go toward sidewalk and pedestrian crossing rehabilitation at various locations along the school routes for John Fenwick Academy, Salem Middle School and Salem High School.
The city would take over maintenance of any completed work, except where local ordinances put upkeep on individual property owners or where crosswalks sit on state or county highways. The mayor, manager and municipal clerk would be authorized to sign the application and grant documents.
Municipal Alliance grant
Resolution 2026-265 would authorize submission of a strategic plan for the Salem City Municipal Alliance grant for fiscal year 2028. The request totals $1,940 from the Governor’s Council on Substance Use Disorder, along with a $485 cash match and $1,455 in in-kind contributions. The state created the Municipal Alliance program in 1989 to prevent substance use disorder, and the city has its own Municipal Alliance Committee. The application goes through Salem County. By approving the resolution, council would also acknowledge the grant’s administrative compliance and audit requirements.
Historic Brick payment
Resolution 2026-268 would transfer $20,000 in utility sale proceeds into the Infrastructure/Community Center Initiative account for the final payment to Think Pavers for the Historic Brick project on Market Street. The transfer follows Ordinance 26-09, adopted May 26, which set up the process for moving utility sale proceeds into spending categories based on a plan approved by the state. It is pending certification of funds by the city’s chief financial officer.
What’s next
Notice of the meeting was provided to the South Jersey Times and the Elmer Times and posted on the City Hall bulletin board. The meeting includes two public comment periods. The first, early in the meeting, is limited to agenda items, and the second, later, is open to any matter. Speakers are asked to give their name and street name for the record.
The agenda also includes committee reports, mayoral comments and reports from the city administrator and commerce director.
The two ordinances would return for public hearings and final votes Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m. Resolutions approved Monday take effect as adopted.