MORRISTOWN — Farhad Naematulla and his father have run their Midtown Shopping Center pizzeria for the last 30 years. On March 31, they and 13 other businesses in the strip mall will have to move out to make room for M Station, a new mixed-use development.

The M Station project, hailed as the town's "most significant" redevelopment, with offices, retail and a promenade, signed its first tenant this month but still needs several town approvals before it can demolish the old and break ground to construct the new project.

"We have to relocate everything: two pizza ovens, our hood systems for the kitchen, and we have freezers and fridges and dough machines. We have tremendous costs, but I mean, this is our livelihood," Naematulla said.

Last summer, when town officials began to discuss the feasibility of the project, the business owners became wary. With a lease binding them to stay, owners were left on edge until a move-out date was issued.

On Dec. 5, 2019, business tenants received a notice of eviction, leaving them with just three months to find a new space and move out.

"People were expecting to have more time. Everything went so quickly," Naematulla said

Morris Pizzeria is the only tenant to have secured a new location, on South Street near Town Hall.

Jon Lin, the owner of the strip's liquor store, said relocation is very complicated because of the liquor license.

"There's lots of rules. I have to file permits with the state, with the town, and all that takes time. It's harder for us to move," Lin said. His liquor license allows him to sell alcoholic beverages only in Morristown.

Lin's parents own Macho Nacho, a fast-food Mexican restaurant a few doors away. Owners for almost 30 years, Lin and his family are looking for new spaces in town but fear they may have to relocate outside Morristown.

"A four-month notice doesn't give you enough time to relocate, do construction, find a business and have a seamless move. They could have worked with businesses to find out what we need," said Green Life Market owner Ameer Yassin.

A tenant for only 3½ years, Yassin is worried about his loyal customer base and hopes to find a space in town to move to. His store offers unique organic food offerings not found at a traditional supermarket.

After he switched to a plant-based diet, Denis O'Shaughnessy and his family began to shop at Green Life Market daily. It's the only place that sells the foods he eats.

"We're going to miss them for sure. We'd have to go to three different supermarkets to get what we find here," said O'Shaughnessy, who travels from Randolph to shop at Green Life.

Ellen Denigris didn't know the strip mall was closing until she read an email from the food market announcing its closing sale. A Montville resident, she always stops by when she's in the area.

"It's unfortunate that development is going to do that," Denigris said.

Scotto Properties owns the Midtown Shopping Center and several other properties in town. According to its executive vice president, Peter Realmonte, "preparation prior to demolition takes time." After tenants leave, the company will use the time to prepare the building for demolition.

Scotto Properties and town officials said they offered their help to several businesses, yet the majority of owners said they are "unhappy" with the lack of help and communication they have received. Jennifer Wehring, executive director of the Morristown Partnership, said the scenario "is incredibly challenging" but she is working to find spaces for some businesses.

"We didn't get help from the town or the builders," said 26-year tenant and Cluck-U Chicken owner Neil Goldrosen.

The casual-dining business has 30 employees who could lose their jobs unless Goldrosen finds a new location in town. He opposes the project and said the addition of new high-rise office space will bring more traffic to an already high-traffic town.

Lin agrees. "Morristown is losing its small to mid-size city charm. It's going to be a Morristown City pretty soon," he said.

The M Station proposal is to build two six- and seven-story buildings, M Station East and M Station West, totaling over 350,000 square feet of office and retail space on Morris and Spring streets. It also calls for a new parking structure with 900 spaces and a 45-foot-wide Morris Street Promenade.

The area was deemed a location in need of redevelopment by the town in 2008.

Jessie Gomez is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com and NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: jgomez@gannettnj.com Twitter: @jessiereport