Council and Mayor hopefuls differ on issue
By: Joseph Harvie
The candidates for mayor and Township Council have different ideas on what should be built on Route 1, what to build along Route 130 and in the eastern section of the township.
The candidates spoke to the South Brunswick Post about development along major thoroughfares in the township as part of a five-part series leading up to the Nov. 7 general election.
The candidates are incumbent Democrat Frank Gambatese and Republican Lynda Woods Cleary for mayor, and incumbent Democrat Chris Killmurray and Republican Nanette Craig for council. Both seats are four-year terms.
Ms. Woods Cleary said the township should have had unique stores come into the still-under-construction Heritage Place Shopping Center on the northbound side of Route 1, south of its intersection on Route 522. She said that Best Buy, Target, Staples and Pet Smart all have locations on Route 1 in West Windsor, and the township could have attracted different customers with different stores.
Ms. Craig said that Route 1 shouldn’t have much more retail along the roadway because it is already congested. She also said she would like to see undeveloped parcels on Route 130 preserved as open space.
Mayor Gambatese and Mr. Killmurray said that pockets of retail make sense for Route 1. Both also said that the stores moving into Heritage Place, and the opening of the Home Depot in the South Brunswick Square Mall last year, will help bring retail closer to the South Brunswick residents.
In addition, both Democrats said they favor hotels built on Route 130, including the proposed Ramada near the intersection of southbound Route 130 and Melrich Road.
Lynda Woods Cleary (R)
mayoral candidate
Lynda Woods Cleary, of Princeton Walk, said she would like to see more office and research buildings on Route 1, as opposed to retail, which would increase traffic on the highway.
"When you have retail stores, they can open at any time and an eatery can open for breakfast," said Ms. Woods Cleary, a self-employed financial advisor. "So you can have traffic in the morning, throughout the day, during evening rush hour and into the evening. With a medical or office building, traffic flows early in the morning, a little at lunch and in the early evening."
She also said she is concerned about the types of retail stores moving into the township. She said that the inclusion of Target, Best Buy, Staples and Pet Smart in the Heritage Place shopping center on Route 1 does not make much sense.
"All you would have to do is drive an extra few miles down Route 1 to get to these stores," Ms. Woods Cleary said. "They have these stores in West Windsor, so they are not unique to South Brunswick. If I were mayor I would have looked to get more unique stores in South Brunswick."
In addition, Ms. Woods Cleary, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for council in 2004, said that there is not much room left to develop on Route 130 or Route 27. She said she would like to see professional buildings or "light" research buildings on the road.
Ms. Woods Cleary also said she would like to see a small medical office building on Route 27 near its intersection with Route 518.
"There’s already a medical building going in, so I think it would fit in there," Ms. Woods Cleary said.
She said warehouses would work in the eastern section of the township, near its borders with Monroe and East Brunswick. However, she said that she would want more input from the residents of that area before plans are laid out.
"I would probably hold meetings with the residents to get their concerns out first, before moving right along with plans for warehousing or any other use for that land," Ms. Woods Cleary said. "The people in that area are very vocal and I would want them to be very involved in any development that would take place."
Frank Gambatese (D)*
mayoral candidate
Mayor Frank Gambatese, a retired accountant, said he supports the construction of two new hotels because of the money they will bring in.
He said that the old site of the Solar Motel on Route 1 near Ridge Road is being eyed for a new Hilton Hotel. However, township public affairs coordinator Ron Schmalz said that the site cannot get into the planning phase because the N.J. Turnpike Authority owns part of the parcel as part of the right-of-way for Route 92.
Mayor Gambatese, who served on the then township committee in 1997 before being elected to council in 1998 and mayor in 2002, said the hotel would help bring extra revenue to the township through the 6 percent state hotel tax rate, of which 3 percent goes to the township.
In addition, Mayor Gambatese said he is in favor of retail development on Route 1, but he does not want to see a huge increase in that type of development on the already congested roadway.
"I don’t want Route 1 to be like Route 18 in East Brunswick," Mayor Gambatese said.
The township’s need for a hardware store in the township was met when the Home Depot opened last year on Route 1, Mayor Gambatese said.
"Especially with the price of gas nowadays, Home Depot was a big plus for the township," Mayor Gambatese said. "It was an existing mall, and they only added on 5,000 square feet of space. Before they came to town you had to drive 10 miles to buy a screw."
Mayor Gambatese said he is also happy to see the Heritage Place shopping center on Route 1 north, just south of its intersection with Route 522. The shopping center is slated to include stores from Target, Best Buy, Pet Smart and Staples as well as a bank and two restaurants.
Mayor Gambatese said that the location is far enough south on Route 1 in the township to not affect traffic too much.
The mayor said that there is also not much space left for warehouse development in the township, especially in the eastern section of town, near its borders with East Brunswick and Monroe.
"There is only about 50 acres left over there to develop," Mayor Gambatese said.
Nanette Craig (R)
council candidate
Nanette Craig, of Kendall Park, said that she doesn’t want to see more retail establishments on Route 1.
"I don’t want Route 1 to look like Route 18 in East Brunswick," said Ms. Craig, a retired nurse and nursing administrator.
However, she said she would like to see more office and research development along the corridor. Ms. Craig said that retail brings more traffic to the heavily traveled roadway.
In addition, Ms. Craig said that she wouldn’t want to see any more warehouses built in the township, especially along Route 130.
"We have enough warehouses in this township," Ms. Craig, wife of township Republican Organization’s chairman Roger Craig, said.
Instead, she said she would like to see land on Route 130 preserved as open space.
She does, however, support retail outlets in the warehouse zone, similar to the Lenox warehouse, as long as it is not near residential development.
There isn’t much room left to develop on Route 27, Ms. Craig said, and what little space there is, she said, shouldn’t be taken up by large retail buildings. She said a medical office near the highway’s intersection with Route 518 would work, but not another strip mall.
Chris Killmurray (D)*
council candidate
Councilman Chris Killmurray, of Summerfield estates in Dayton, said he is happy to see the South Brunswick Square Mall on Route 1 revitalized since the opening of Home Depot last year.
"There was an existing mall that was struggling there," said Mr. Killmurray, an attorney with Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst and Doukas of New Brunswick. "If I were on the Planning Board I would have supported the Home Depot on Route 1. However, I would’ve preferred to see Home Depot have a better dialog with the residents from the start."
Mr. Killmurrray, who has been on the council since 2002, said he is happy to see more retail coming into the still under construction Heritage Place shopping center on Route 1.
"You have to travel 10 miles south or 10 miles north on Route 1 to get to something like that," Mr. Killmurray said.
However, he said he does not want much more retail on the road because it is already congested. Mr. Killmurray said he would rather see small office or research buildings on Route 1.
In addition, he said he wouldn’t support any high-density housing developments along Route 1.
Mr. Killmurray said there is not much land left to develop on Route 130 either. He said that hotels that have been proposed for the road make sense for the location, which is close to the N.J. Turnpike.
"It seems like a need for the town," Mr. Killmurray said. "They wouldn’t look at us unless they did some research. Plus it adds a good corporate citizen to town."
Existing business seem to be expanding their operations along Route 130, Mr. Killmurray said. He said warehouses have been asking to expand operations in town, and he said that he wouldn’t be surprised if gas stations ask to build convenience stores to their operations in the future. However, he doesn’t want to see the road overdeveloped with the small stores.
"Oil companies seem to be combining grocery shopping with buying gas," Mr. Killmurray said. "I’d be willing to look at that. What I wouldn’t want to see is a Wawa, next to a QuickCheck, next to a Stop and Go."
In addition, Mr. Killmurray said he would never approve warehouses west of the turnpike.
He also said that he is willing to see how allowing retail space in industrial zones in the township works out. He said that he would like to see it tested closer to N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A, rather than near residential neighborhoods on Davidsons Mill and Deans Rhode Hall roads.

