BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE – The redevelopment of the former Krome nightclub property is anticipated to start sometime next year.
That is according to developer and Continental Properties partner Zigga Roshanski, who the borough tapped for the project last July. The plan calls for an age-restricted community with 144 housing units and a marina on the 10-acre site at the corner of Route 35 and Old Spye Road.
The Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) is waiting for a signed redeveloment agreement from the involved parties. Though due date for the contract was earlier this month, Roshanski told Greater Media Newspapers that the contract will be signed shortly, depending on when all parties agree on the language.
“The contract is in progress,” Roshanski said last week. “In days or in weeks, the contract will be signed.”
Roshanski said ongoing communication over the details and wording of the contract is just a normal part of the process of redevelopment. He said this is not a delayed contract review.
“These things take months and months, and go back and forth,” Roshanski said. “We are in cooperation with the town, and there will be no problem.”
Roshanski said the process began with construction drawings of the site plan, which will eventually go in front of the Sayreville Planning Board for approval after the contract is signed.
Roshanski said he did not know when the project would be complete, but said that he would hope to break ground on construction by next year.
“The public does not have to worry,” he said. “The project approvals take a lot of time.”
SERA Executive Director Randy Corman told the Suburban that the agency would still accept the contract. The agency’s next meeting is scheduled for tonight.
Corman said that once the redevelopment agreement is signed, the developer can submit a site plan for approval.
“It is conditional upon the developer to sign a redevelopment agreement and set a time period for the project to be completed,” Corman said.
The building that housed Krome and, before that, Club Bene has yet to be demolished. The largest portion of the property is a paved parking lot that also remains untouched.
The Beninato family, which operated the nightclub and is selling the site to Continental Properties, allowed SERA to deem the 30-acre parcel of land a redevelopment zone last year and planned to eventually shut down the club, which was a source of controversy in the borough for years. But Krome closed earlier than expected following the murder of Che Broadus, an 18-year-old Union Township man, outside the club in August 2004.
The senior community planned for the site is expected to be called Bayview Marina. Purchase of the new units will be limited to those who are 55 years of age or older. A 50-slip marina is also expected on the site, which is adjacent to Cheesequake Creek.
Although Continental Properties has built commercial and residential properties throughout central New Jersey, Bayview Marina will be its first project in Sayreville.