to control future
uses on grounds
Marlboro wants
to control future
uses on grounds
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
Marlboro’s long-standing on-again, off-again negotiations with the state for the acquisition of the Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital property, Route 520, are back on track, according to several officials familiar with the situation.
Members of the Township Council said they are optimistic that an accord can be reached that will obtain the property rights for Marlboro. One factor that officials said makes these negotiations different from unsuccessful attempts of the past is that the state is now relying on the property sale to fulfill its budgetary projections.
Gov. James E. McGreevey told the News Transcript in July that the sale of the 400-acre property during the current fiscal year is necessary due to a budget deficit he inherited from the prior administration. While making no guarantees about selling the land to the township, McGreevey said that whatever choice was made would be consistent with the interests of Marlboro.
But the township has the right of first refusal in any sale, council members said, and a new Memorandum of Understanding between the state and the township was signed by state officials on Friday. The price for the 411-acre property is negotiable in the $25 million range, according to Councilman James Mione.
The township is working on a purchase method that would, in effect, provide Marlboro with control of the property’s future without actually spending tax dollars on the purchase. The council’s plan is to select a developer with a proposal consistent with the township’s, lock them into it, then sell the property rights to the developer. Two interested parties have recently made pitches, but none was selected. Most recently, a potential developer met on Oct. 8 with Councilman Barry Denkensohn, the head of the council’s negotiating committee, on the issue.
"We will try to leave no stone unturned to find the right developer for this property," Denkensohn said.
Interested parties contact the Marlboro Office of Public Information, which mails out a detailed packet about the property. Included is the township’s redevelopment plan, adopted by the council in 2001, which outlines acceptable uses on the hospital grounds.
The redevelopment plan calls for the preservation and renovation of as many of the property’s Tudor-style buildings as possible and demands compatible architecture in any new buildings. Among components allowed on the grounds are high-end retail units, hotels, a golf course, municipal and school buildings, corporate headquarters and open space. Only a limited amount of residential development will be allowed.
The hospital operated in Marlboro on Route 520 near Conover Road for more than 60 years before it was closed by the state in 1998.
Marlboro Public Information Officer Stephanie Luftglass said some past proposals that have been made were inconsistent with the redevelopment plan, especially in regard to housing quotas. Some may have been made to test the township’s seriousness in sticking to the plan, she said.
"I’m against doing mass residential units on that property and I’ve said that from day one," said council President Dr. Paul Kovalski Jr.
As state employees, Kovalski and Mayor Matthew Scannapieco have recused themselves from negotiating the matter in order to avoid any conflicts of interest.
On Sept. 26, the council once again increased the salary cap on the town’s legal representation in the matter, handled chiefly by Jonathan Williams of the firm DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Gluck and Cole. The firm is now entitled to $75,000 for negotiating the purchase of the hospital property from the state; $10,000 to conduct due diligence on developers who have submitted proposals; and $50,000 for negotiating the redevelopment agreement with a designated developer. Any group that purchases the property rights will be obligated to reimburse the township for these costs.
Williams referred comment to the municipal offices.
Another reason council members believe negotiations have picked up is that key players in the Treasury Department, which experienced heavy turnover when McGreevey was elected, are now familiar with the situation. Council members Mary Singer and Ellen Karcher toured the hospital property with treasury officials on Sept. 16 and met again with them in Trenton on Oct. 7. The council members said future meetings have been agreed to in principle at least once a month.
"I don’t mind going to Trenton once a month if that’s what it takes to get this done," Singer said.
"Before, I think the property only existed to them in a virtual world, because they had only seen the place on paper," Karcher said. "Many of them had never seen it before in person, to the best of my understanding."
Part of what the group saw was the dilapidated condition of several of the property’s 43 buildings. Luftglass recalled touring the inside of the buildings with a potential developer, only to find them vandalized and in disrepair.
"The state has allowed the buildings to be used by science fiction film crews. Going through the buildings, you could see fake blood splattered on the walls and year-old, moldy pizza boxes laying around (from the shoot)," Luftglass said.
The hospital property and its buildings have also become a sort of "attractive nuisance" and "Saturday night destination for teens," Karcher said. Marlboro police logs from the summer showed several reports of underage drinkers and juveniles trespassing on the hospital land and surrounding state-owned properties.
Of particular focus during the tour with treasury officials was the environmental condition of the property, Singer said. Historical farming, underground tanks and a sewage treatment plant are some of the components being studied in a remedial investigation of the grounds by the state, she said. The results are expected around May.
Officials believe a challenge for whatever developer decides to purchase the property will be to rehabilitate the buildings, some of which are in worse shape than others.
"People who are being shown inside, potential developers, have to use a lot of imagination," Luftglass said. "It’s not like you can say to yourself, ‘It needs a coat of paint.’ "
Nonetheless, Marlboro officials believe it can be done and have high hopes for the future of the expansive property.
"What we’re being asked to do, in effect, is change the look of the town for generations to come," Karcher said. "I think it can be a beautiful thing. We all have the same goal in mind for this to work out and be something we’re proud of."