The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
It’s no wonder why Arnold Garcia is always smiling.
The township-based builder was still two weeks away from getting a Certificate of Occupancy for his new apartment-retail building on Hamilton Street, and he already had all seven apartments rented out.
Plus, the two retail spaces on the first floor are just about spoken for, with a day care center planning to take them both, he said.
“We’re doing great, and I hope we keep doing this in Franklin,” he said.
Garcia was joined by Mayor Philip Kramer and others on Aug. 26 for the ceremonial cutting of a red ribbon stretched across the building’s driveway at 572 Hamilton St.
A 20-year township resident, Garcia said he was compelled to do something with what had been an empty lot in the space.
“I was going through here every day, and I saw this empty lot,” Garcia said. “I spoke to the owner, and he sold it to me, and this is what came out of the empty lot.”
The building features seven two-bedroom apartments and 1,600 square feet of retail space, Garcia said.
Although recent mixed-use developments planned for Hamilton Street have targeted Rutgers University students, Garcia said he was looking to rent to small families.
“I stay with the families because that’s what we need to maintain all the businesses around here,” he said.
