What Should Replace the Old Verona Acura?

Situated on Bloomfield Avenue just near the intersection of Prospect and Pompton avenues is a vacant retail space on a 1.6-acre lot.

The building, which was formerly Verona Acura, is an apt space for a vehicle-related business, given its large parking lot and 31,815 square feet of available building space.

At 142 Bloomfield Ave., a new business would take advantage of the traffic from the corner’s busy intersection, as well as from its proximity to several businesses across the street and in a neighboring strip mall.

Although currently vacant, the owner, Jeffery Realty, Inc., is flexible in terms of the number of years the space can be leased, and is willing to divide the retail space for multiple businesses. 

So this is where you come in, Verona and Cedar Grove community. The concept behind this column is we’ll present a vacant building and ask you to tell us what you think would be the best use of the vacant space.

Here's the fun part: Forget what zone it’s in. Ignore setback regulations, as well as dump lot coverage rules and all the other zoning jargon that puts most people to sleep.

Our bottom line: If you had your way, what would you like to see there? What would be the best use of the space for the community?

To make this work, this can’t be a one-sided conversation. We want to hear from you in our comments section. And, please, let us know if there’s a vacant space/building you know of as well we can feature in a future column.

Send emails about vacant buildings or stores to Essex County Associate Regional Editor Jack Durschlag at jack.durschlag@patch.com.