Old Bridge seeks state funds for Cottrell Farm

Mayor: Town trying to negotiate price down from $17.5M

BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

Old Bridge officials are taking steps to secure funding in order to purchase the historic Cottrell Farm.

At its meeting Monday night, the Township Council voted to move forward with a grant application to the state Green Acres Program, seeking $17.5 million, the owner’s asking price.

“My goal is to preserve the Cottrell Farm, to reverse the poor planning of the past,” Mayor Jim Phillips said.

Officials are hoping to purchase the farm, at Route 516 and Cottrell Road, with a combination of Green Acres funding, and county and township open space funds.

“I’m willing to try to put all these pieces of the puzzle together in order to pay a fair price for this property,” Phillips said.

The township is in negotiations with Jerald Development Group, of Wall Township. The developer purchased the land from the Cottrell family, and was granted a general development plan (GDP) approval from the township in 2003 that allows for a large-scale housing and retail development project on the 64.5- acre site.

“The plans that have been submitted are simply God-awful,” Phillips said. “It would be a traffic nightmare.”

The GDP, valid until 2013, allows for a “town center” development known as both the Crossings at Old Bridge and Carriage House Crossing. It was to include 82 active adult townhouses and 128 market-rate condominiums, along with 119,000 square feet of retail space.

According to Phillips, the proposed density would be too much to bear, and he is doubtful that the Planning Board would approve the builder’s plans as they stand.

“There are questions in their minds about what can actually be built there,” Phillips said. “[The plans] have been consistently being down-sized.”

Jerry Cernero, owner of Jerald Development, announced earlier this year that he would attempt to have the 18th-century farm preserved through the state Farmland Preservation Program, but his attempt later proved unsuccessful. The Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board informed the company in August that its asking price of $21 million was too high, particularly in light of recent changes to the state program.

When a landowner receives an approval to build, then decides to sell a property, they have the right to have the land appraised at its highest value for what was proposed there. Although Jerald paid $6 million for the tract, according to Phillips, the GDP approval allows the developer to ask nearly triple that amount.

“The town, in fact, raised the value of the farm with that approval,” Phillips said. “It was a mistake.”

Despite the current asking price, Phillips said negotiations seem to be going well because of the fact that Jerald originally asked $25 million for the farm. He said his hope is that the developer will realize that it is a difficult time to build such a project, and go lower in the price.

“I want to negotiate it down to the lowest possible number, and so far, the builder has been moving in the right direction,” Phillips said.

At Monday’s meeting, Councilman Richard Greene said that while he supports the acquisition of the farm, he has a hard time understanding why officials would want to allow building on the 500 acres of open space that make up the Crossroads redevelopment tract, while purchasing a different property to be kept as open space.

Greene has been a vocal opponent of the proposed data storage center at Crossroads, saying the land should be maintained as open space.

“I think we should keep our assets, and I believe that any type of development in this area over here is just going to ruin the rural aspect of South Old Bridge,” Greene said of the Crossroads property, located in the vicinity of Routes 9 and 18.

His statement was met with applause from members of the public at the meeting.

Phillips said he is happy to know that Greene is on board regarding the purchase of Cottrell Farm, but questioned why he did not do anything to thwart the GDP approval before it was granted in 2003.

According to Phillips, two objectives can be met through the purchase of the farm and the development of Crossroads – curbing overdevelopment and providing tax relief.

Residents who wish to speak out on the Cottrell Farm issue can do so at a public hearing Monday at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers.