"The Residences at Choctaw stands as an example of how responsible planning can achieve both compliance and quality." Mayor Albert J. Kurpis said that at the grand opening of the 111-apartment community on October 24, 2025. The phrase that matters most for the year since is "responsible planning." It describes the record that has built up along East Allendale Road.
In the past twelve months, East Allendale Road has seen a relocated nineteenth-century barn, a newly opened apartment community, a second building approved across the street, and a shopping center parking lot redesign. Two of those four sit on land the borough owns or bought for the purpose. The other two went through the Planning Board, the Mayor and Council, or both. Saddle River has no downtown to change gradually. The road that serves as one is changing through a series of public decisions, each made at a dated meeting, and each can be followed address by address.
The Stretch, by Address
| Address | What's there | Where it stands as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 20–22 East Allendale Road | Approved 42-unit, age-restricted affordable rental building | Approved June 30, 2026; tax agreement adopted September 14, 2026; approval notice gives no construction schedule |
| 25 East Allendale Road | Residences at Choctaw, 111 apartments | Opened October 24, 2025; fully occupied at opening |
| 66 East Allendale Road | Achenbach Barn | Relocated late 2025; exterior, electrical and site work through 2026; future use not announced |
| 100 East Allendale Road | Municipal Building | Where the Planning Board and Council meet |
| 171–175 East Allendale Road | Colonial Shopping Center | Repaving and new crosswalk approved September 8, 2026; no work date set |
Two Housing Sites Facing Each Other
The Michaels Organization describes Residences at Choctaw as the borough's first purpose-built affordable housing community. It is a three-story garden-style complex with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, a clubhouse with a community room, a fitness center, a basketball court and a tot lot. According to the developer, it drew more than 3,000 applications for 111 homes. The borough's affordable housing page now lists its waiting list as closed.
The second building is planned for 20 and 22 East Allendale Road. On June 30, 2026, the Planning Board adopted Resolution No. 26-16. The resolution combines the two lots into one and approves a three-story building with 42 affordable rental units that are 100% age-restricted, along with parking, stormwater management, landscaping and lighting. The board also recommended a permit to move about 4,800 cubic yards of soil for the work. The applicant is Saddle River Phase 2, LLC, and the borough's 2025 housing plan names The Michaels Organization as developer of this site.
The borough's role on this site goes beyond approving it. Saddle River bought the property with money from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Under a developer's agreement dated May 1, 2026, it will convey the land for one dollar when the project's financing closes. On September 14, 2026, the Council adopted Ordinance 26-1125, which replaces conventional property taxes on the project with an annual service charge of 6.28% of gross sheltered rents. The ordinance sends 37% of that charge to the Saddle River Board of Education for its general funds. That share to the school district is the detail most likely to affect a household that will never set foot in the building. The Planning Board's notice of decision records the approval and its conditions, and it gives no construction schedule. The borough's affordable housing page says the borough does not take applications itself; applications, waitlists and eligibility go through the applicable housing program or administrative agent.
A Barn on the Old Exxon Corner
Farther along the road, the borough took on a different kind of project. A Planning Board resolution on November 3, 2025 released escrow funds to help pay for moving an 1800s barn from 4 Apple Ridge Road to borough-owned land at East Allendale and West Saddle River roads, the former site of an Exxon gas station. NorthJersey.com reported the move on November 7, 2025. The borough's project page links the barn to the Achenbach House property and gives its new address as 66 East Allendale Road.
The 2026 work list shows a building being made usable rather than just stored. It includes exterior painting, replacement glass, a new exterior door, lighting and electrical work, utility trenching, a new well, grading and seeding, with each item traceable through the borough's monthly bill lists from May through August. A well and electrical service usually mean a building is expected to have visitors. Even so, the borough has not said what the barn will be used for or who will run it, and no opening or dedication is on the calendar. Until the borough announces something, the former gas station corner holds a restored barn whose future use is still undecided.
A Crosswalk Where Shoppers Were Already Walking
Colonial Shopping Center, at 171–175 East Allendale Road, is the stretch's main shopping destination. It is privately owned, so changes there go through the Planning Board instead of a borough purchase. On September 8, 2026, Ben Lucarelli, general partner of Versailles Realty Company, appeared before the board with photographs of deteriorated pavement. He described a problem anyone who parks there will recognize. People walking between the retail building and the area near the post office were stepping into the vehicle travel lane or cutting through a landscape bed.
The approved plan includes the following:
- Milling and repaving about half the parking lot, with the remainder sealed and restriped
- A painted crosswalk between the Saddle River Cafe area and the front of Bank of America, with signage so drivers are warned of the crossing
- Converting the angled stalls near the river and septic field to 90-degree stalls, which by the applicant's later calculation gains one space even though the crosswalk removes one
- Rebuilding the traffic-damaged planted island near the restaurant, with Belgian block set in concrete where cars run over it and the rest of the bed raised about six inches, edged, irrigated and replanted
The board's discussion went beyond paint. Councilman Hekemian asked whether the crosswalk could be moved somewhere more visible. Board member Joan Foley raised concerns about drivers using the lot as a shortcut to the traffic signal at excessive speed, and Mr. Lucarelli agreed to ask his engineer about more speed control. The approval is conditioned on a field meeting with Borough Engineer Spence to finalize the crosswalk alignment, parking, stop bars and signage, followed by a revised plan for the record. Mr. Lucarelli estimated about three days for milling and paving and one more day for striping. No work date has been posted yet. Once one is, the disruption should be about four working days.
The Same Council Calendar, Off the Road
The same Mayor and Council meetings that handled the East Allendale Road items also approved work elsewhere in the borough. On July 20, 2026, the Borough Engineer reported that the rubberized path extension at 153 East Saddle River Road was nearly finished, connecting Rindlaub Park to the new section of the path system. He also reported that the slab for the Fire Department annex had been poured. On August 17, the Council awarded Rindlaub Park improvements to Downes Tree Services. The work includes an artificial putting green of about 1,000 square feet, funded through a 50/50 match with Bergen County Open Space, and the final design depends on that funding. At the same August meeting, Cifelli & Son General Contracting received the Lower Cross Road contract. The bid notice for that job calls for full-depth reconstruction of 6,420 square yards with granite-block curb.
The next decisions for East Allendale Road will be made at 100 East Allendale Road itself. The Planning Board's remaining 2026 regular meetings are October 6, November 10 and December 1, all at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building. The October 6 agenda lists a soil-relocation hearing for 28 Coltsfoot Glen. The borough's calendar notes that entries can change and that legal notices govern meeting details. The agendas for those meetings will show whether the barn's use, the shopping center's paving date or a start date for 20–22 East Allendale Road comes next.
For long-time Saddle River homeowners, especially those thinking about rightsizing or managing a family property near this stretch, changes like these can raise practical questions about timing and how a home will be presented to buyers. Rebecca Day can help you sort through them quietly and in order. Request a private consultation whenever it would help.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
