March 15 to submit
plans for Route 18 area
Town taking proposals
on ‘golden triangle’ site
Developers have until
March 15 to submit
plans for Route 18 area
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — Developers have until March 15 to submit proposals to the township in hopes of redeveloping a large Route 18 shopping center.
The township has already received a multitude of responses, according to Councilman David Stahl, who also sits on the Planning Board. Stahl estimated that more than two dozen firms have at least informally voiced interest in redeveloping the township-owned site where Sam’s Club and other stores are located. The shopping center, at Route 18 and Tices Lane, was known in the 1970s as the Golden Triangle due to its development potential.
Earlier this year, the Township Council agreed to declare the 32-acre property to be in need of redevelopment. The Planning Board recommended the council take such an action in order to gain more economic benefit from the site, also home to Jason’s Furniture, the Route 18 Market and the township’s Transportation and Commerce Center park-and-ride.
Township planners argued that the site meets the state’s broad criteria of an area in need of redevelopment, noting for example that the flea market is generally only open on weekends, limiting profitability. The township owns the area but has an outside company lease out the commercial buildings. The current lease is set to expire in 2008.
The township currently brings in about $500,000 a year from the rentals, and that money is used solely for the parking utility budget. The township operates two park-and-rides on Route 18.
Stahl said the process of selecting a developer and then actually beginning with the redevelopment is of "large magnitude" and will not be completed any time soon.
"This is a very large project that will take a number of years to complete," he said.
Officials have not said whether Sam’s Club and the other businesses currently operating at the site will have to relocate. Stahl did say that the township does not want to split up the land, and thus will have only one developer working on the area.
The park-and-ride will remain at the site and will be improved, officials have said previously.
Stahl said the objective for the coming year is to select the right developer for the project. He said it will ultimately be up to the council to choose the developer and decide how the area is developed. The process through which that decision will be made is yet to be determined.
The area is zoned for a mixed use, and Stahl said it is too early to know exactly how the site will be redeveloped.
"At this point, it’s really premature until we see ideas from firms interested in developing the site," he said.
According to a statement posted by Township Planner Leslie McGowan on East Brunswick’s municipal Web site, the township is seeking "proposals from qualified developers to purchase and redevelop … the municipally owned tract into a vibrant mixed-use development."
The request for proposal (RFP) can be reviewed at the township’s Department of Planning and Engineering. A copy is available for $200.
"The RFP sets forth relevant information regarding the property being offered for redevelopment, including applicable design standards and objectives, survey and topographic data, developer qualifications, proposal format and the process for developer selection," McGowan wrote.
Interested parties have until 3 p.m. March 15 to respond to the RFP.
A non-mandatory pre-submittal conference is scheduled for Jan. 14 in the large conference room of the municipal building.