WOODBRIDGE — Eleven years ago, residents saw an abandoned dilapidated factory as they traveled up and down Avenel Street.
Today, the site is home to a vibrant village centered around arts and culture.
Mayor John E. McCormac, Alan Schall, Station Village at Avenel, Steven H. Santoro, executive director, New Jersey Transit, Caroline Ehrlich, executive director, Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency, and members of the Woodbridge Township Municipal Council gathered to announce the grand opening of Station Village at Avenel on Oct. 17.
Station Village at Avenel is a new luxury apartment and townhouse community with a newly renovated New Jersey Transit Avenel commuter train station.
Schall said the anchor of the site is a 13,000 square foot Avenel Arts Center, which will bring entertainment, joy and inspiration to the local residents and to the broader community.
McCormac said the announcement of Station Village at Avenel is one of the most significant announcements of his administration’s 11 years in office.
“We literally started talking about [this project] in 2006 even before taking office,” he said.
McCormac said the private owners of the former 27-acre General Dynamics site approached them to talk about the property, which he said was probably the most contaminated sites in Woodbridge Township.
“It was nothing to be proud of,” he said of the site, which had been that way for more than 25 years.
The mayor said officials went through a process of about a dozen public meetings in 2007 and 2008 talking to residents about a vision for the site — an office building, retail, and/or industrial/warehouses.
In the end, a residential housing element was definite and with Ehrlich’s vision of an arts village, it all came together.
McCormac said the other options would have not included the massive cleanup of contaminants in the ground, which was a big factor in decision making.
He said the cleanup process has already started.
“At the end of the day, this will be a 100 percent cleaned up site,” McCormac said.
The township went through a request for proposal process after the prior owners of the site fell through. That’s when Atlantic Realty Development Corporation stepped in.
McCormac said in 2008 the market declined and not much movement on the site was made; however, slowly negotiations were taking place for the cleanup of the site. The market turned around and Atlantic Realty started work.
A total of 500 units will be built on the site with 10 percent affordable housing.
“I’m proud to announce that the construction of the art center will begin at the end of this year,” Schall said.
McCormac said they are already booking plays for when the 200 plus theater with a full bar and restaurant opens next fall.
Schall said the train station is the other cornerstone of the project with direct access to the North Jersey Coast Line.
“Residents can either be in New York City or the Jersey Shore within 45 minutes,” he said. “It’s really incredible.”
The site includes a connection to the station and a new seating plaza where people can wait for the train.
“New Jersey Transit has done a wonderful job in sprucing up the platform in anticipation for increased ridership,” Schall said.
Ehrlich said the project is a testament to when the whole community comes together.
“I am so happy that the developer that stepped forward was Atlantic Realty because they have been part of our community going back generations and generations,” she said.
Ehrlich said part of the dream and vision was to create a downtown that Avenel residents can call their own.
“This is going to be that place a year from now,” she said. “[Residents] will be able to walk [to Station Village and] see a show, [grab coffee at the] coffee shop, get together and have a great time.”
Station Village at Avenel and the Avenel Arts Center, in concert with the NJ Transit North Jersey Coastline commuter train station serving Avenel, represents a $50 million transit-related development project that will create 500 luxury apartments and town homes, 25,000 square feet of arts-themed retail space, and a 10,000 square-foot performing arts center with artist studios, galleries, rehearsal and performance space, and themed restaurants and hospitality facilities.
The Avenel Arts Village and Station Loft at Avenel include streetscape improvements, lighting, sidewalks, parks and green space.
John Leone, senior director, New Jersey Transit Office of Government Relations, said that New Jersey Transit supports Station Village at Avenel and the Avenel Arts Center project through the renovation of the NJT North Jersey Coastline commuter train station and will conduct a periodic review of the need for additional transit stops at the Avenel station as occupancy increases at Station Village.