The name of the project reflects the site's prior use as Bellclair Lanes, a bowling complex that dated back to the 1960s. The building occupied Bellclair Lanes, which was razed to make way for the Sterling Properties project, was originally a trolley barn built circa 1900 that was renovated in the '60s.

Bellclair at Montclair is located in this Essex County town's main shopping district, a short distance from a New Jersey Transit train station that has direct commuter service to Midtown Manhattan. According to Joseph Forgione, a principal of Sterling Properties, his company is targeting young professionals as residents.

Sterling Properties, incidentally, has recently established a track record of sorts in doing redevelopment projects, mostly residential in nature, in some of the Garden State's older cities and suburban towns. Bellclair and other Sterling projects are the type that wouldn't have much trouble getting done even under a stricter statewide development scheme currently being proposed by the administration of Gov. James McGreevey.

As far as Bellclair at Montclair itself, the project includes three separate buildings designed by Plano, TX-based architect Thomas Brennan. The largest of the trio of buildings is a four-story, 48-unit asset. The two smaller buildings, both three stories tall, will have 14 and eight apartments respectively, with the latter containing all of the project's 4,000 sf of retail space.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments range from 775 to 1,400 sf, with monthly rents of between $1,800 and $2,650, according to Forgione. Bellclair at Montclair will also have both underground and surface parking for residents.