The Lucas family, owners of the Lucas Construction Group in the Morganville section of Marlboro, has received final site plan approval from the Jackson Planning Board to build the Jackson Athletic Center in that northern Ocean County municipality.
The Lucas family owns the property at 535 North County Line Road in Jackson where the athletic facility will be constructed. In about a year, if all goes according to plan, the games will begin – rain or shine, inside the 46,543-square-foot recreational facility.
The JacksonAthletic Center is expected to provide a place for people of all ages to play the sports they enjoy, according to attorney Ray Shea, who represented the applicant before the board.
The Jackson Athletic Center “will serve thousands of young people in the community who want to learn how to play certain sports and hone their skills during inclement weather on the east coast,” Shea said.
Shea said because of the family’s love of sports and a familiarity with the township, the Lucas family believed Jackson would be a good location for the project.
“The father and his two sons are acknowledged athletes and soccer players,” Shea said. “Because of their background in sports and the previous road work (their company has done) in Jackson, they thought it would be an excellent location to bring a facility that does not exist anywhere in the township.”
The Jackson Athletic Center is expected to provide space for indoor soccer, lacrosse, softball and baseball, as well as a number of other sports activities. Plans indicate there will be a small mezzanine seating area that will allow spectators to watch the activities.
The board granted the Jackson Athletic Center final site plan approval on Nov. 7. The applicant is waiting for final approval from several other regulatory agencies before construction can begin.
“The plan is to be able to break ground in late spring 2012,” Shea said. “I expect the building will be open in the fall of that year.”
While the athletic center will have a mezzanine area where spectators may sit and watch the activities, tournament play in the facility was not granted by the board.
Shea said the Lucas family agreed to appear before the board in the future in the event that any tournaments are planned.
The Lucas family “chose Jackson because the town has a large number of children and one of the largest household sizes according to the 2010 census,” the attorney said. “(The facility) will level the playing field with (kids in) California, given that it is a 12-month facility.”