M Station developer poised to tackle long-stalled redevelopment around the Green

Another suitor has emerged in the long and troubled courtship for one of Morristown’s most desirable locations, a collection of vacant storefronts fronting the historic Morristown Green along North Park Place, wrapping around onto Washington Street.

The parcels include the hulking remains of the Century 21 department store, a ghostly presence since its pandemic shutdown.

This suitor has a local track record: SJP Properties, builder of Morristown’s M Station, home to corporate titans Deloitte and Sanofi.

SJP has a contract to purchase nine storefront lots along North Park Place and Washington Street, along with law offices across Washington Street that have been vacant since 2010, from entities of Dave Brown, according to a pair of resolutions before the town council tonight, Aug. 18, 2026.

The council is poised to designate SJP as redeveloper of both projects, which have the potential to enhance the downtown by transforming properties the town deems as “blighted” into viable housing and commercial venues.

SJP Morristown Green LLC intends to build approximately 160 residential units, and 100,000-120,000 square feet of build-to-suit office space with ground floor retail and parking, according to the resolution poised for adoption. That’s scaled down from 143,900 square feet of commercial office space pitched in November 2024 by prospective buyer North Park Place Holdings LLC.

The latest concept for the former Schenck Price law offices at 2-10 Washington St. calls for 54 residential units, ground-floor retail and parking — closely mirroring earlier plans.

“They have executed a contract,” Mayor Tim Dougherty said of SJP over the weekend. “They informed us they had a contract. So we have experience with them in town. I hope they can see the contract through and offer us a great product.”

Asked about the string of failed deals, Dougherty said the town’s threatened eminent domain proceedings — which spurred a lawsuit by Brown — will pause “for the time being.”

SJP, which has offices in Parsippany and New York City, declined to comment. Brown said he is “cautiously optimistic” things will work out this time.

“If the mood is right, I think we can have a big success there,” he told MorristownGreen.com. (This publication has no affiliation with any of the Morristown Green entities named here.)

Brown described SJP as “well known to the players in town,” and its CEO, Steve Pozycki, as “a straight shooter who delivers what he says he can.” Pozycki and SJP Chief Financial Officer David Welch “have the skills necessary to do a great job.”

While SJP’s design concept for North Park Place remains preliminary, Brown said, he expressed optimism about how the finished project will look, and how the public will feel about it.

“I think they will like it,” he said.

Because of the former department store’s layout, Brown was doubtful it could be repurposed. Before Century 21, it was home to Macy’s and Bamberger’s stores. “We’d rather not pull that building down, but I don’t see any alternative.”

In addition to the former Century 21, Brown said the redevelopment will encompass storefronts that previously housed Chase, HSBC and Charles Schwab, and others that presently house John’s Deli, Square Luggage and the Morris County Democratic headquarters.

Brown said he will retain ownership of 10 North Park Place, the 1930s office‑and‑retail building extending from the former Joseph A. Bank shop to the old Rite Aid, now home to Playa Bowls and the design firm Gensler.  Provident Bank, on the corner of North Park Place and Washington Street, is under separate ownership and will remain, he said.

Neither resolution before the council locks in a final project. Both give the town a 90-day exclusive negotiating window with SJP (extendable 60 more days at the discretion of the mayor or business administrator) to reach a formal redevelopment agreement, and authorize a “pre-development funding agreement” in the meantime.

If no deal is struck, both redeveloper designations expire automatically — the same mechanism that ended previous designations for North Park Place Holdings and its affiliate TAG Development LLC.

It was not clear whether SJP will seek a PILOT agreement. That’s short for Payments In Lieu of Taxes.

Such arrangements, meant to encourage redevelopment of properties that otherwise might be too challenging, are controversial because they cut out taxes for schools. Prospective office tenants and the companies that finance office projects like PILOTs because they spell out tenants’ municipal payments, typically for 20 to 30 years.

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Tuesday’s votes will be the latest chapter in a saga that stretches back 16 years — when Brown acquired 2-10 Washington St., three conjoined buildings dating back 150 years, and home to Schenk Price for generations.

Morristown threatened to condemn these adjoining buildings at 2-10 Washington Street. Photo: March 22, 2021, by Kevin Coughlin
Brown’s companies struck a deal to sell both properties in April 2022, agreeing to a $57 million sale to Accurate Builders & Developers of Lakewood. The following year, Accurate pitched the council on turning the long-vacant former law offices at 2-10 Washington Street into 54 apartments with ground-floor retail, and the council authorized a redevelopment plan.

Artist’s rendition of proposed redevelopment at 2-10 Washington St., at Morristown council meeting, July 11, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
But the broader Accurate deal never closed. In December 2023, the council separately declared 11 of Brown’s North Park Place-area properties an “area in need of redevelopment,” opening the door to possible condemnation, and Brown sued the town the following month challenging that designation. That suit was dismissed without prejudice by late May 2024.

Around the same time, the Accurate sale collapsed. Brown terminated the purchase agreement in March 2024, citing missed escrow payments and blown deadlines; Accurate disputed the termination. Brown sued Accurate’s subsidiaries for breach of contract.

With that deal dead, the town solicited new redevelopment proposals for North Park Place in June 2024. Six developers responded, and in November 2024 the council selected North Park Place Holdings LLC — a joint venture of Cannon Hill Capital Partners and TAG Development LLC — which proposed roughly 160 residential units, 143,900 square feet of office space and 43,500 square feet of retail.

The developer was given 120 days to close a deal with Brown; that window was later extended, but no agreement was ever reached, and the designation ultimately lapsed. A second attempt to designate North Park Place Holdings, in January 2026, met the same fate.

Hours before that January vote, Brown filed a second lawsuit against the town, this time seeking to void the blight designation entirely and block any use of eminent domain.

Washington Street followed a parallel track. In March 2026, the council designated TAG Development on its own as redeveloper of 2-10 Washington Street, with plans for a 54-unit building similar in scope to Accurate’s original pitch. That designation also expired without a signed agreement.

On June 10, 2026, Brown’s ownership entities signed new purchase agreements for both properties — with SJP Morristown Green LLC.