Sto usher in a new day for a long-abandoned site alongside the Raritan Bay.
COURTESY OF SAYREVILLE ECONOMIC REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY The Robert E. Lee Inn, between Route 35 and the Raritan Bay, which burned down in the 1980s, is being advertised as the potential location of a restaurant or banquet hall. Developers who might be interested in the former Robert E. Lee restaurant property, off Route 35, are being asked to respond to respond to the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA). The agency, which recently reached agreements with nearby property owners, on Monday issued a request for a statement of interest from prospective builders.
“We want maximum publicity to seek interest for it,” SERA Executive Director Randy Corman said.
The 4-acre property is between Route 35 and Raritan Bay at the mouth of Cheesequake Creek in the Morgan section.
The site was formerly home to the Robert E. Lee Inn, so named because it was located at the exit point of a tunnel that James Rufus Morgan used to smuggle gunpowder and munitions to Confederate ships during the Civil War, according to the New Jersey History’s Mysteries Web site. The Web page, which cites the Sayreville Historical Society as a source, states that Morgan was a friend of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The restaurant was a popular bayside eatery for many years, but was destroyed by fire in the 1980s and was never rebuilt.
Despite discussions of a new restaurant, marina or ferry slip, the property has remained vacant. Borough officials welcome the idea of a waterfront restaurant or a banquet facility there that would take advantage of the waterfront views, SERA states in its advertisement to developers.
Earlier this year, Auwrite Construction, of Livingston, owner of 2 of the property’s 4 acres, signed an agreement with SERA, which owns the other half. The agreement permits SERA to market the adjacent parcels jointly.
In addition to the 4 acres of land, the property to be redeveloped includes another 8 “riparian” acres that could be used for a marina.
Borough Councilman Dennis Grobelny, who is also a SERA commissioner, said this is the best way for both the borough and the other property owner to get the most value out of the property.
“By marketing the parcels jointly as a 4-acre tract, both the borough and the private owner of the Robert E. Lee site can both get a better price, and the people of Sayreville can get a better project,” Grobelny said.
Council President Thomas Pollando praised SERA for moving forward on the potential project.
“This is great news,” Pollando said. “The old Robert E. Lee restaurant was a popular place years ago, and would make an excellent site for a waterfront restaurant and marina.”
Mayor Kennedy O’Brien also thanked SERA, specifically Vice Chairperson Raniero Travisano and SERA Chairperson Christine Spezzi, for starting this process with the property owner about six years ago
“I am delighted that it is coming to fruition,” O’Brien said. “…I particularly thank Renny Travisano and Christine Spezzi, who patiently pursued that which has come to pass with the property owner. It was a long process that required great patience.”
Travisano said the site is at a major entrance to town for northbound travelers, and its redevelopment would “bring pride to the community.”
Travisano grew up in that area.
“As a kid, he used to go swimming around there and he frequented the restaurant,” Corman said.
Travisano was even one of the firefighters who fought the blaze that brought the restaurant’s demise, Corman noted.
Travisano said the restaurant was a favorite hangout for him as a child and in adulthood.
“I remember when the bar was downstairs on the lower, lower level,” Travisano said. “It was even with the water almost, and the bar downstairs there used to get flooded, so they moved it upstairs.”
When they moved the bar upstairs, many patrons would sit and enjoy the view of the bay and the creek, he recalled.
“It was just great. We just had a lot of fun there,” Travisano said.
Patrons of the restaurant came by boat and car from all over New Jersey and New York.
“They served the greatest seafood and steaks,” Travisano said. “You could enjoy a good meal, the good company. We would come in with our boats, dock right on the creek, go in and eat.”
Travisano recalled fighting the fire with the Morgan Hose & Chemical Co., and how ice became a problem in the freezing February temperatures.
“It was early morning and it was very cold,” he said.
Travisano hopes to see much of the Route 35 corridor in Morgan redeveloped, “so that we can put a lot of life in that section.” He said it is encouraging to see restaurants such as the Spanish Riviera doing business there.
“Hopefully, the Krome property will be redeveloped,” Travisano said, referring to the defunct nightclub where a senior community called Bayview Marina is proposed. The plan calls for 144 housing units and a marina on the 10-acre site at the corner of Route 35 and Olde Spye Road.
“If we can develop that whole area … that would be fantastic,” Travisano said. “It would bring a lot of life to the area of Morgan and Route 35.”
The agency’s request for statements of interest can be found on the borough Web site. The due date for responses is Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. Respondents can call Corman for more information at (732) 390-7010