BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
A developer signed a multi-million dollar agreement with Sayreville last week that will allow it to build more than 200 senior housing units off River Road.
PRC Group, the borough’s appointed redeveloper for the project, signed a $5.3 million agreement to purchase the River Road site near the Sayreville Senior Center. The Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) at its March 8 meeting approved the agreement, with the six SERA members in attendance voting unanimously.
David Messer, senior vice president and general counsel for West Long Branch-based PRC Group, showed the agency the concept plan for the eight buildings proposed for the site. He said a community building, parking and stormwater drainage areas will be included in the plan.
“[The concept plan] is subject to further revision and refinement as we move along,” Messer said.
Messer told SERA that the buildings will range from single-story flat units with one-car garages to three-story townhouses with elevators. He noted that the builder is optimistic about the success of this plan in the current marketplace.
“The typical building will combine four types of units, each one with its own garage associated with it. This has had some success in the marketplace,” Messer said.
SERA chose the developer after issuing an RFP (Request for Proposals) for the land behind the Senior Center.
“The agency went through a public process to select a developer for the redevelopment of the property,” Samuel said.
Since the state is still conducting wetlands studies, the number of units that can be built on the site is not yet known, Samuel said, adding that the developer may not be able to put up as many units as it had hoped to build.
The agreement calls for the construction of 274 units, but states that if the developer gains approvals to build more than that, it will have to pay the borough $37,000 for each additional residential unit.
Samuel made a request that the developer direct its professionals to work on the amendments needed in order to move the process forward.
PRC had originally proposed larger buildings, but wetlands delineation and the state of the real estate market led the developer to decrease the size of the buildings, SERA Engineer David Samuel said.
The smaller buildings in the current concept fit the character of the area better than those proposed in PRC’s former plan, Samuel said.
“We [at CME Associates] don’t have a problem recommending them,” Samuel said. He noted that buildings such as these are typically built higher, at four stories tall. He added that because the housing is age-restricted, the builder can exceed the borough’s regulations on the height of the buildings.
Approximately 13 percent of the units will be affordable housing under the state’s low-income guidelines.
The developer will return to SERA when its concept plans and renderings are further adjusted, Samuel said.