& Millhurst Rd. shows
movies, shops,
Village at Manalapan
pitched to committee
New plan for Route 33
An artist’s rendering shows a portion of the Main Street component of The Village at Manalapan, which a developer is proposing to build at Route 33 and Millhurst Road.
& Millhurst Rd. shows
movies, shops, ‘Main St.’
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — What was once a field of sunflowers may soon become a major focal point for area residents.
Plans for The Village at Manalapan, a 135-acre mixed-use commercial center at the intersection of Route 33 and Millhurst Road on the south side of Manalapan, were presented to the Township Committee at its Sept. 24 meeting.
The property to be developed is the former Probasco farm. Several years ago township officials rezoned the parcel from office space to commercial use. A previous application for commercial development never took off and now a new entity has come forth with a plan.
The proposal was presented by Manalapan Retail Realty Partners, a single-purpose organization formed by Richard J. Brunelli of Holmdel, Michael Gatto of Millstone Township and Phillip Rizzuti of Colts Neck.
"Before we take this very involved project to the Planning Board, we felt we had the responsibility to come to this body and identify what our plans are," said attorney Kenneth Pape of Old Bridge, representing Manalapan Retail Realty Partners.
Brunelli told the committee he was an original partner in 1985 in the development of The Grove in Shrewsbury. He said The Grove was the second so-called lifestyle center built in the country.
"The Village at Manalapan would create an ideal sense of place for Manalapan residents, serving as a traditional community base for people to interact, to be entertained, to dine and to shop," he said.
The $90 million project would be a source of revenue for the township, he said.
The Village at Manalapan would include:
• a lifestyle center;
• a downtown center with a Main Street area;
• a community shopping area with a supermarket;
• an entertainment area with a restaurant row;
• and a number of public places including areas of open space, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, tennis courts and possibly a tennis facility.
"These are areas that will attract national retailers and local retailers," said engineer Richard V. Kenderian of Kenderian-Zilinski Associates, Wall Township.
As described to the committee, the lifestyle center, a heavily landscaped area, would be anchored by a major bookstore and an upscale specialty department store. As The Village at Manalapan’s closest element to Route 33, this area would have the most visibility to the highway’s traffic, Brunelli said.
"Our objective for this area is to create an ambiance and merchant mix along the lines of The Grove," he said.
The downtown center, which the representatives said was inspired by Broad Street in Red Bank, will have a variety of restaurants, cafes, specialty shops and boutiques along a Main Street area.
"That Main Street is developed to remind us all of that Norman Rockwell-type of small town which is typical in New Jersey," said Kenderian. "That is the trend."
"Each storefront in that area will be designed to appear as if it had been built in a different era," said Brunelli. "Buildings will complement one another, but will feature varied architectural styles."
Buildings along Main Street will be two or three stories high and there will be second floor restaurants with outdoor decks for dining. Plans also call for upper level office space and studios for artists.
Also considered will be a limited number of residential units above the stores.
"The residents will add to the 24-hour security and night life of The Village’s downtown," said Brunelli.
Plans for the entertainment area call for a state-of-the-art multi-screen cinema with stadium seating, accompanied by a variety of restaurants.
The developer also plans to have a number of public places including a "Town Green," athletic fields and commuter parking. A band shell is also planned.
"In that area we are planning a bandstand, an old-fashioned gazebo," said Kenderian. "We would have concerts at night. I can envision the Fourth of July and functions like [activities performed by] the Boy Scouts."
The northern section of the property would contain playing fields.
"The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District and the township’s recreation leagues would be invited to hold sporting events," Brunelli said. "Families will be able to enjoy the ball games and then take their young athletes to eat in the restaurants."
He said a 500-space commuter parking area would also be available.
"I am asking for your support for a people-friendly place where people can shop and dine," said Brunelli. "Where there will be athletic events, parades down Main Street, car shows [and] outdoor concerts. We need your support to create this vision."
Committeeman Bill Scherer wanted to know if there will be offices for doctors and noted that a movie theater had previously been eliminated from the plan. He said there would have to be some changes made if a movie theater is to be included. He said most of Manalapan’s residents live in the northern part of town and said road improvements will be needed to get them to The Village.
Pape said the answers to Scherer’s questions would be forthcoming in a written response.
Deputy Mayor Rebecca Aaronson said the project should include businesses such as a drug store, a barber shop and doctors offices to serve people living on that end of the community.
Pape said John Jennings, the lead engineer for Schoor DePalma, Manalapan, is working on the issue of direct access from Route 33.
The last time a discussion of the property’s use as a retail center was before municipal officials, the previous developer had not secured state Department of Transportation approvals for direct access from Route 33. At that time, the only access was from Millhurst Road.
Mayor Drew Shapiro wanted to know whether the land for the playing fields would be dedicated to the township and if so, could a school be built on that property?
He was told that a school was not in the plan; only a recreation area will be offered. However, it was noted that the issue of a school area vs. a recreation area may be discussed when the application proceeds to the Planning Board stage.