Hotel at center of Tenafly redevelopment plan sold; council says original redevelopment agreement stalled

Tenafly officials told the mayor and council on March 4, 2025, that the hotel property included in the borough's Dean Drive redevelopment plan was sold to a new owner after the plan was adopted, and that sale has stalled the negotiated redeveloper agreement.

The change in ownership means the single-ownership condition in the redevelopment agreement no longer holds, town staff said, and the council rescinded authority to execute the redevelopment agreement when it learned not all parcels remained under the same ownership. Staff said the group that had been negotiating still owns the southerly parcel but the northerly parcel containing the hotel was sold “relatively soon after the redevelopment plan was adopted, unbeknownst to us,” according to a staff member identified in the meeting as Jeff (staff member). Jeff said the redevelopment agreement contained covenants and…