claims he
Developer says senior
homes would be benefit
Anthony Spalliero
claims he’s offered to
settle with Marlboro
for 240-unit project
By mark rosman
Staff Writer
Calling his plan, "a home run for the town," developer Anthony Spalliero described the adult community he wants to build in Marlboro.
In a conversation with the News Transcript on Oct. 24, Spalliero said he has told township officials he wants to build 240 single-family age-restricted homes on the former Marlboro Airport property on Route 79 and two adjoining parcels.
Responding to an Oct. 23 News Transcript editorial that asserted he always gets the municipal approvals he asks for in Marlboro, Spalliero said, "I never got anything from Marlboro. I had to go to court."
Of his planned age-restricted homes, he enthusiastically said, "This is a great deal that will bring in revenues. No kids, no traffic, no hassles. It’s not a high-rise; it’s single-family homes."
Noting that he had donated the land at Harbor and Tennent roads on which the Marlboro Early Learning Center was constructed by the Board of Education, Spalliero said, "I would never do anything to hurt this town."
Asked to comment on the assertion that he does not build homes in Marlboro, but transfers the development rights to others, Spalliero said at this time he and his associate Terry Sherman are planning to build the age-restricted homes.
He did say that if representatives of a large corporation made him an offer on the plan, he would consider selling it and allowing a corporation to build it.
Within the past two weeks, Spalliero and the owners of the Marlboro Airport property filed a lawsuit against Marlboro seeking relief under the state’s affordable housing guidelines and permission to build homes on the airport property and the neighboring tracts. Spalliero said a story about the lawsuit that appeared in the News Transcript on Oct. 23, written by staff writer Karl Vilacoba, was "100 percent true" and accurately reflected the present situation.
He sought to dispel some information that is making its way around town. He said he wants to built 240 single-family homes on the airport tract and two other parcels, known as the Manzo tract and the Carbone tract. Together, the three lots total about 100 acres, he said.
Of those 240 homes, none would be set aside as "affordable housing" for people whose income meets regional guidelines set by the state, according to Spalliero.
It is only when an affordable housing component is brought into this picture, he said, that the number of units that would have to be built could increase. Generally, that is because the construction of the units to be sold for less than their market value to qualified buyers must be subsidized by the construction of additional homes sold at market prices.
A total of 1,000 units has been mentioned in conjunction with making this particular proposal a part of Marlboro’s affordable housing plan, and Spalliero did not disagree that is an accurate number.
"If I go to court, I know I’m going to win," he said.