By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN – Local township and Monmouth County officials served as the hosts to a Grow Monmouth roundtable with owners and managers of local businesses to discuss ways to help them become more successful, grow, create more jobs and spur economic development.
At least a dozen individuals gathered at the Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church St., on April 19 to also here an update about different advances that have been made since the township held its first roundtable nearly a year ago.
“We get to hear a lot of things at these forums that we may not be aware of and it really is an exchange of ideas between all of us,” Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said.
“Naturally what we want to do here in Middletown is be the most attractive municipality for business not only in Monmouth County, but in the state.
“We have a lot to offer, including a train station, a ferry terminal, over 67,000 people, which is a lot of buying power, and for retail, we are trying to get people to really support businesses here because small businesses are the backbone of Middletown and we value everybody.”
John Ciufo, executive director of Monmouth County’s Division of Economic Development, said feedback received from last year’s roundtable didn’t fall on deaf ears and that county and township officials have acted on numerous issues.
“Last year, we came, questions were asked, concerns were raised and that’s really the goal of these roundtables,” he said. “The challenges [businesses] have need to be communicated so that assistance can be given.”
One topic brought up included the former Pathmark Shopping center location at Route 35 and New Monmouth Road, which Scharfenberger said earlier this year would see TJ Maxx and Bed, Bath & Beyond moving into it.
“We met with the owners of the property and they have some interesting ideas regarding rehabbing the center and making it more pedestrian-friendly, and we started to develop the idea of trying to create incentives for people who own commercial centers like this to rehab them to help getting more people to occupy the spaces,” Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante said.
The idea led to the establishment of a new business expansion ordinance.
“The biggest issues we have in New Jersey are empty office spaces and outdated shopping centers,” he said.
“They’re dinosaurs and we have to do other things to make them attractive and we developed an ordinance that is really unusual in New Jersey, which will allow an expansion of 8500 square feet or 10 percent of any commercial building without going though the planning board process.
“It is enough of an inducement to help people get more leaseable space in their centers”
Along with the new ordinance, the township has also established a Municipal Business Liaison position, held by Maureen Raisch, assistant to the mayor, who will serve as an outreach member assisting commercial property owners in the quickest way possible.
“Every time you drive up and down Route 35, you see vacancies or lease or space available, and that is a kick in the gut to us,” Scharfenberger said. “Our first and foremost mission is to get all those properties filled as much as possible … utilize existing, before building new, just makes common sense and it benefits everybody here, too, so we’re very cognizant of that, we are going to do everything we can.
“We’re trying to maintain the balance of being protective of everybody to make sure things come out right, but common sense, things to get businesses through at the least expensive and least painful process we can offer.”
Other sites and topics discussed included the redevelopment of the Belford Seaport and North Middletown and the new Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which will be built on the 40-acre property at 480 Red Hill Road off Garden State Parkway’s Exit 114, which was last occupied by Lucent Technologies a decade ago.
“[That was] a true partnership of what our Economic Development and Grow Monmouth Initiative is all about,” Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders Director Thomas Arnone said.
“We all worked very much hand-in-hand … and saw this was a need, not just for Middletown, but for Monmouth County, and to have this coming here and giving people that comfort level is extremely rewarding to our residents.”
Other sites discussed included the Lunney site in North Middletown and the Steak and Ale property on Route 35.
“Our primary focus is try to reuse properties and redevelop properties, not so much developing undeveloped land,” Mercantante said.
“One of the lessons really for all municipalities is about what they can do to create incentives for things to happen.
“I think you have to put some things in place to make it a little easier and a little less costly for potential employers to move into the community, and if you do that, you put yourself at an advantage.”