BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — The township has received another state payment for the purchase of the 148-acre Heavenly Farms property, whose future use will soon be discussed by a community group.
The Township Council on Monday passed a resolution to accept $600,000 in state Green Acres money that will help with the purchase of the Cranbury Road site. Though the total cost is upward of $12 million, much of that amount is being paid by county and state grants.
The $600,000 is the second installment of the $4.85 million being given by the state, said council President David Stahl.
The township’s Future Municipal Land Use Committee will soon reconvene to discuss what could be done with Heavenly Farms, Stahl said. Though officials intend to keep most of the property as open space, a multi-use facility is still a possibility and a dog park is being planned there. The township also plans to build a road through the area, and a parking lot.
Other recreation uses are possible at the site.
Mayor William Neary, who has discussed the possibility of a multi-use facility that would provide a new home for the East Brunswick Community Players theater troupe, said that such a facility could begin construction as early as this year. The capital budget includes $1.2 million in revenue from the sale of the Playhouse 22 property on Dunhams Corner Road that could be used for such a facility.
Also included in this year’s capital budget is $250,000 for what Neary described as engineering and site work at Heavenly Farms. He said the work is part of phase one of the project and includes site cleanup.
About $50,000 of the $1.2 million would be used for architect fees related to the facility.
He said the $1.2 million is not needed for any other aspect of Heavenly Farms or its purchase.
Stahl said this is the second installment the town has received from the state toward Heavenly Farms. The last one was received in the middle of 2004, and was also in the amount of $600,000.
He said the payments are coming in installments because the state no longer pays in lump sums.
“In these limited times, to reach as many towns as possible, they give partial payments,” he said.
The Future Municipal Land Use Committee will be meeting in April to discuss Heavenly Farms, Stahl said.