Borough officials have asked the developer to reduce the size of illuminated signs for the Oceanport Village Center under construction on East Main Street. KENNY WALTER/STAFF OCEANPORT — The developer of the mixed-use Village Center complex was sent back to the drawing board last week to revise plans for three freestanding signs.
The borough’s Unified Planning/Zoning Board asked professionals for Oceanport Center LLC to scale back signage plans after several board members and residents of the neighboring Jockey Club community criticized the size and location of the signs.
However, project engineer Joseph Hanrahan said that while the signs could be scaled back, they are essential for the viability of any potential retail businesses looking to locate at the center.
“The signage is critical to the success of the project and to the success of the community,” he said. “This is a retail development; however, it is in an area that is not a retail area.
“We are not asking for any more than what a normal retail area would propose.”
The mixed-use project will consist of two buildings with 36 apartment units of one to three bedrooms on the upper level and retail space at street level.
The project — being constructed on 4.7 acres at the intersection of Port Au Peck Avenue and East Main Street, across from Monmouth Park — broke ground in 2012.
While the complex is currently being built as approved, the developer is requesting a site plan amendment and variances for three freestanding signs that would be placed on-site.
Many residents spoke out against the proposal, with Jeanne Zimmerman calling them a “disgrace.”
Others cited impacted views and the possibility of creating unsafe traffic conditions, as the signs may distract motorists.
One resident, however, said the project is well-designed.
“It’s a nice-looking building. And whoever is doing the construction, from what I know, is quality construction,” Sam Zimmerman said.
Peter Falvo, the attorney representing the applicant, said a 7-Eleven store and Two River Community Bank have signed letters of intent to be the anchor tenants of the complex.
He said both tenants have indicated they would leave the project without a sign being approved.
The proposal includes two signs for each anchor tenant and a third sign that would include a listing of the remaining tenants.
Each tenant also has approvals for a mounted sign on the front and back of their space. But Falvo said that because the parking lot is located off Port Au Peck Avenue and behind the development, the freestanding sign is necessary.
The development is designed by New Brunswick architecture firm Design Ideas Group and is being developed by Victor Gourkanti.
Hanrahan said the concern is that Village Center and neighboring Oceanport Plaza are the only retail spaces in the borough.
“This is not a retail area; you can see the shopping center next door is not completely successful,” he said. “We would like the Village Center to be successful.
“The signage will not have a detrimental effect to the neighborhood,” he added. “They are in scale with the building; they complement the architecture; and the lighting is internal illuminated.”
During the hearing, the project was often compared to The Grove at Shrewsbury and Pier Village in Long Branch.
Several members of the board questioned the comparison to The Grove, which has a freestanding sign on Route 35 similar to the one being proposed for Village Center.
Many board members cited the larger setbacks of the Grove stores and the higher concentration of traffic on Route 35.
Board member Jason Fichter said that unlike other retail areas on highly congested highways, the Village Center would likely be familiar to most traveling on Oceanport roads.
“The traffic that goes by will be 90 to 95 percent the same every day,” he said. “So they are going to identify this place.”
However, Hanrahan said the success of the complex depends on drawing in traffic.
“That traffic will not support the center,” he said. “We need the other five percent to know what’s going on here to support the center. We want pedestrians walking along East Main Street. We want this to be an active area.”
The property across from the main entrance to Monmouth Park once was owned and used by Monmouth Park as a parking lot in the 1960s.
In 2004, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority — former operator of Monmouth Park — received approval to move forward with the Village Center project and the Jockey Club, an active adult community located on East Main Street.
Gourkanti acquired the Village Center property in 2006 after the authority auctioned off both the center and the Jockey Club site.
The borough acquired and subdivided the land behind the Village Center, now known as Maria Gatta Park, using Green Acres funding.
A hearing on the Village Center proposal has been scheduled for Feb. 11.