FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – A developer’s plan to build an adult community and restaurants on a Route 9 tract is not expected to materialize for at least another year.
The property targeted for development is on Route 9 south between the jughandle for Three Brooks Road and Route 524 (Elton-Adelphia Road). The parcel borders homes on Coachman Drive North and Old Post Road.
During the June 7 meeting of the Freehold Township Planning Board, members of the panel voted unanimously to grant a second one-year extension of approval to Land Bank Freehold, LLC, as successor to K. Hovnanian Shore Acquisitions, LLC, regarding the proposed residential-commercial development.
In 2015, the Planning Board granted approval for the construction of a 113-home adult community and a clubhouse at the rear of the property, and restaurants and commercial buildings on the Route 9 frontage. The adult community would include about 20 units of affordable housing, according to the minutes of a May 21, 2015, board meeting.
Allison Coffin, a professional planner, testified on behalf of the applicant and said the overall plan was substantially compliant with the underlying zoning on the property. The zoning was the result of a settlement agreement that was reached between Freehold Township officials and the developer, according to the minutes.
Residents who live on Coachman Drive North and Old Post Road spoke during the public hearing and asked questions about the impact the construction of the adult community would have on their homes.
Township Committeeman David Salkin, who was a member of the Planning Board in 2015, explained that this development has been an ongoing project the Township Committee has been looking at for years because it was a result of litigation, according to the minutes.
Salkin explained that the zoning on Route 9 is very tight because municipal officials did not want wall-to-wall retail uses all along the highway. He said officials fought for many years to defend the zoning on Route 9.
According to the minutes, Salkin said because it has been basically impossible to get tenants for office space, which is what most of Route 9 was, officials had to change a lot of the zoning on the highway corridor to allow projects such as the adult community. He said this was the result of going to court and negotiating until the township ended up with something officials believed they could live with.
Three years later, and based on the Planning Board’s action on June 8, the adult community, restaurant and commercial project on Route 9 south will not begin construction in the immediate future.