MANALAPAN — Residents of the Renaissance adult community had a lively exchange with members of the Manalapan Township Committee during a town hall meeting that was held in their neighborhood off Craig Road.
The main focus for the residents during a two-hour meeting in their clubhouse on Aug. 26 was the Manalapan Crossing development which has been proposed for the corner of Route 33 and Millhurst Road.
No formal proposal for Manalapan Crossing is currently before the Township Committee or the Planning Board, but a concept for the development was presented to the community by Vito Cardinale of Cardinale Enterprises earlier this year.
In August, the governing body directed the township attorney to draw up an ordinance that deals with the Manalapan Crossing property. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 8 p.m. Sept. 9 at the municipal building, Route 522.
In general terms, Mayor Jack McNaboe and the other members of the committee told the audience members they are trying to attract ratables that will pay a significant amount in property taxes, with the goal of keeping residents’ municipal taxes stable.
“This can be real tax savings to Manalapan,” McNaboe said. “Some people cannot pay more in taxes. They are up against the wall and we are trying to do something to help them.”
Committeeman Jordan Maskowitz said some residents are getting “crushed” by a tax increase this year after a reassessment of their homes brought the assessment to 100 percent of market value.
Maskowitz pointed to the Covered Bridge adult community where some residents’ tax bills increased by 17 percent.
He said that during a recent meeting with Manalapan officials, some Covered Bridge residents were crying and asking their elected representatives what will happen if they cannot pay their tax bill.
The answer to that question is that the residents will be charged a high interest rate in addition to the property taxes they owe, Maskowitz said.
One Renaissance resident said tax bills in the community went up between $350 and $700 this year.
Committeeman Ryan Green said municipal employees are putting together a financial analysis of the Manalapan Crossing proposal.
Committee members said the proposed development could pay several million dollars in property taxes every year.
The 135-acre property at Route 33 and Millhurst Road, which is also known as the Probasco farm, is approved for 500,000 square feet of retail operations that could be built now, according to McNaboe.
Cardinale, who officials explained is the contract purchaser of the parcel, has said he wants to bring a residential component to the site in the form of hundreds of apartments.
The ordinance the committee directed its attorney to draft may permit up to 600 apartments at Manalapan Crossing.
“Commercial is the ratable we want. Residential is the dirt we are willing to eat in the salad to get what we want,” McNaboe said.
Members of the governing body have said they will try to restrict the apartments to one and two bedrooms and said the rent could range from $2,000 to $2,500 per month.
Some people in attendance at the Aug. 26 meeting said they are concerned about the number of children who could live in the apartments and attend Manalapan’s schools, and the potential impact those additional children could have on school taxes.
McNaboe said the development of Manalapan Crossing would include $8 million worth of road improvements — paid for by the developer — at the intersection of Route 33 and Millhurst Road, which in recent years has become one of Manalapan’s busiest locations. He said that kind of offer “is worth listening to.”
Maskowitz said some Manalapan residents have indicated to municipal officials that they would accept the construction of apartments at Manalapan Crossing. He said an affordable housing component at the site could be made available to disabled veterans.
Committeewoman Susan Cohen said there is a feeling among some committee members to allow the proposal for Manalapan Crossing to go through the process and “if people come out and kill it, so be it.”
“We are trying to look to the future, five and 10 years from now. We think this will be a good project for Manalapan,” she said.
A woman who identified herself as a real estate professional said she believes the presence of apartments at Manalapan Crossing will negatively affect the resale value of homes in town.
“People move here for suburbia. If they want apartments, people will stay in Hoboken or Brooklyn Heights,” she said.
Cohen said, “I don’t think anyone will move (out of Manalapan) because of apartments” at Manalapan Crossing.
McNaboe said there may be residents who would sell their home and rent an apartment in order to stay in town, but not have to deal with the responsibilities of home ownership.
It was suggested that young couples, for example a police officer and a teacher, might choose to rent an apartment at Manalapan Crossing for several years before taking on the responsibilities of home ownership.
— Contact Mark Rosman at [email protected]