BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN – Residents who came to the Planning Board meeting last week said they wanted to see the site of the former Stop & Shop cleaned up.
The site, located at the intersection of Middlesex and Central avenues, has been dubbed “a blight” by those residents.
“I am sick of seeing that blight,” said Joanne Falkenstein. “There should be an end date on when these meetings will end and when the project will begin.”
About a dozen residents expressed similar sentiments at the board meeting on July 5.
Borough Planner James Constantine presented a PowerPoint presentation to the board and residents on the history of the D-1 Downtown Development District and what the area could become, by displaying what has been done throughout the country to revitalize downtowns.
The board voted 9-0 in favor of the ordinance amending the land development ordinance for the D-1 Downtown Development District.
The ordinance would allow a mixed-use neighborhood in the D-1 zone.
Constantine said there is a trend to turn old shopping centers into lifestyle centers.
“This is not just a fleeting trend,” he said. “These centers would attract single-person households and empty-nesters into town.”
The board’s vote is the borough’s next step forward for the proposed three-story town center on the approximately 6-acre piece of land.
The proposed center would consist of specialty retail stores, bistro-style restaurants, a bank and a specialty gourmet market on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and residential units on the third floor. The proposed sports club for the second floor was taken out of the plans.
David Minno’s architectural firm represents the Old Bridge-based Renaissance Properties Inc., the owner of the site as well as the three houses on Central Avenue. Minno presented the proposed plan in the D-1 Downtown Development District to residents who jammed the Metuchen High School cafeteria in May 2006. The borough had a total of six public meetings on the proposed plan.
The buildings abutting the Middlesex and Lake avenues would have a 15- to 20-foot setback from the street.
Constantine displayed pictures of the building, which houses Java’s Brewin’ and has an 18-foot setback from the street.
“We would be looking at something like that,” he said.
Constantine displayed architectural drawings, which depict two two-story buildings abutting Lake Avenue, four three-story buildings abutting Middlesex Avenue, and two four-story buildings abutting the rail line.
Constantine said the borough has a lot of leverage on what goes in the former Shop & Stop site because the borough has control of the supermarket block and the New Street parking lots.
Many have expressed concerns about the proposed plan, however; Steve Epstein, who owns the Boro Ace Hardware store on the site and has partnered with Renaissance Properties Inc., said residents should not be afraid of change.
“Not only did this place stay the same, it went backwards,” said Epstein.
“We need to protect Metuchen as a whole, with Wal-Mart coming in Edison [on Route 27] and everything,” he said. “If this project does not happen, I don’t know where my business will be. Change is definitely for the better.”
Dottie Winhold, a lifelong resident and the owner of a real estate agency in the borough, agreed.
“I know this town doesn’t like change, but we can’t please everybody,” she said. “We have a beautiful piece of land in Metuchen and we can make it into a Red Bank. It’s like the saying ‘If we build it, they will come.’ “
Christopher Morrison, who is seeking a three-year council seat in November as a Republican, said the proposed plan has many great attributes, but now is the only time to fix traffic issues at the intersections of Middlesex and Central avenues and Middlesex and Lake avenues.
“This is the last time we can fix the intersection before the plan is implemented, or else that intersection will be like that forever,” he said.
Constantine said the intersections have been dubbed the “worst intersections” in Middlesex County because of the limit of two lanes coming from the underpass of the Northeast Corridor rail line and two lanes coming from the St. Joseph High School side.
“The intersection just hasn’t gotten any better,” he said.
The board discussed connecting the proposed plan to the Middlesex County Greenway and possibly marking it with an archway pinpointing where the greenway begins.
The board also discussed how to connect downtown Main Street to the proposed plan.
Constantine said Renaissance Properties Inc. is still in negotiations with McPherson, who owns the strip mall, which includes the Carvel and bakery and the Blockbuster on Lake Avenue.
The Borough Council will discuss and vote on the ordinance at the next council meeting, at 7:30 p.m. July 16.