EAST BRUNSWICK — Township officials said Monday there is little information they can provide as to the negotiations with Toll Brothers over the future of the Golden Triangle.
During Monday night’s council meeting, various officials said the precarious nature of talks with the Pennsylvania-based redevelopment firm means there are few answers they can provide to residents at this point.
However, the council voted 4-0 at the meeting to adopt a $25 million bond ordinance that could be used to buy back the Golden Triangle, the property at Route 18 and Tices Lane, which the town sold to Toll Brothers three years ago. Councilwoman Nancy Pinkin was not present for the vote.
Mayor-Elect David Stahl said the township would need some of the bond money to balance its 2008 municipal budget in the event that Toll Brothers does not make its annual payment for the Golden Triangle. The township anticipated this year’s $4.5 million payment in the budget, but the developer recently informed officials that the current redevelopment plan is not economically viable.
Toll Brothers has approval to build 402 residential units and more than 180,000 square feet of retail space — replacing the existing retail uses on the site such as Sam’s Club — but the developer is asking to make changes to the plan. It seeks alternatives such as eliminating or delaying the residential construction; building more commercial buildings; and/or improving the existing retail buildings and entering long-term leases with commercial clients.
As township officials enter negotiations with the builder, Stahl said, they felt it necessary to have a backup plan in the form of the bond ordinance to buy back the property, which Toll Brothers bought from the town for $35 million.
The council’s redevelopment attorney, Matthew Karrenberg said during Monday’s meeting that Toll Brothers has given no formal notification that it will not pay the $4.5 million due by the end of 2008. He also reiterated what Stahl has said about the reasons for adopting the ordinance.
Arthur Fliegelman, an East Brunswick resident and commuter, said it seems as though the Golden Triangle was never really sold as much as it was “hocked” to Toll Brothers. Where else, he asked, could someone buy a piece of property and years later, after the value falls, be able to get its money back. He said he would love to put his home’s worth back at the level it was a couple years ago.
Fliegelman also noted that the township has already amended the redevelopment plan twice, and asked what officials have in mind as negotiations move forward. But he and other residents did not get the answers they sought from the governing body, as officials said they simply cannot discuss negotiations in public.
Council President Catherine Diem said that officials expect the deal will be carried out in a way that is agreed upon by both sides, and with approvals from the township Planning Board.
Township Attorney Michael Baker added that it is Toll Brothers, and not the township, that is paying the attorney fees East Brunswick is incurring as a result of the negotiations. Township Finance Director L. Mason Neely said the money is from an escrow account.
Neely also addressed a related topic that some residents had wondered about. He said Toll Brothers’ lease with Sam’s Club is structured so that the tenant is the party that pays property taxes to East Brunswick. Neely said it would take 12 months of unpaid property taxes before the township could place a lien on the property and begin foreclosure. He said it is unlikely such a move would be necessary.
But the tone of the meeting was set after one resident asked the council what the impact of the potential scenarios would be on taxpayers. Diem said council members have been advised to be careful how they answer questions.
Neely said the bond ordinance gives the township a three-year “holding period” during which it can decide what to do. He explained that the town would be able to get through the first three years of the bonding stage without having to make any payments on the principal, though it would need to pay the interest.
Should the township reacquire the property, Neely said, there would be income potential — the town would collect rent from tenants such as Sam’s Club, and that would be used to pay the interest costs.
The actual price for the property would be subject to negotiation, but the $25 million bond ordinance gives the town the start it needs to repurchase the land and the development rights, Neely said.
Another resident, Camille Ferraro, asked why the bond ordinance reads that the borrowing is being done by the township’s commuter parking utility. Neely said that although the utility is named, it is ultimately the township as a whole that is responsible for paying the bond money back.
In its Nov. 7 letter to Mayor William Neary, Toll Brothers’ Robert Fuller wrote that current economic conditions are forcing it to reconsider aspects of the project, as there is no market for housing at this time.
“In today’s climate, there is no doubt that the Golden Triangle redevelopment plan fails and is not economically viable,” Fuller wrote. “The residential units would cost more to construct than the price at which the units could be sold, assuming that buyers and mortgage financing could be found.”
Despite the desire to make changes, Fuller said Toll Brothers still believes it can make the Golden Triangle “a vital ratable to the township while the economy struggles through turbulent economic times.”

