Two applications for the Edison Towne Square project sailed through the Planning Board on June 15, allowing an international recreation chain to set up shop on the property.
The applications sought to amend the approved master plan for the site and to construct a Topgolf recreation facility. Neither required variances.
The Edison Towne Square project has been advancing this year after a multiyear delay that was attributed to both a weakened economy and subsequent state Department of Transportation revisions that required the plans to be scaled back. Currently, the only tenant operating on the property at Route 1 and Vineyard Road is Sam’s Club.
During the first application, Allen Magrini, senior vice president of land use and development for developer Hartz Mountain, explained that the site has gone from 79 percent impervious coverage to 68.6 percent, and the stormwater management plan needs to be adjusted accordingly.
The scaled-back project should also generate less traffic, according to Michael Maris, traffic engineer for the applicant. Maris said Hartz was required to conduct an updated traffic study, and has found less traffic in the area than existed in 2007, even before the new Sam’s Club was built.
“What has happened is, people have changed their work habits,” he said, adding that there has been an increase in the number of people who either work from home or stagger their shifts.
He said people have also changed their shopping habits.
Topgolf replaces what would have been another big-box store, he said, and the recreational facility should only generate a quarter of the traffic that a big-box store would produce.
Ted Heilbron, development manager for Topgolf, spoke to the board about the nature of his business and the value he said it would bring to the township. “We are a first-class golf/entertainment concept. We own and operate driving ranges around the country,” he said. “Effectively, we are a driving range on steroids.”
The all-ages facility has high-tech enhancements, such as microchips inside the golf balls and real-time yardage feedback, and has a full menu for players as well as those who are there just to dine, he said. Currently, the company has 17 facilities, 14 of which are located in the United States; the closest Topgolf facility is in Alexandria, Virginia. Topgolf has been in business for 14 years.
Heilbron said the business would be a benefit to the township, both because of the 500 local people Topgolf would be hiring and the $30 million it would be paying in taxes over the next decade.
“So we truly view ourselves as a commu- nity amenity,” he said.
Heilbron added that Topgolf is very excited about the location.
Some expressed concerns when the applicant team shared that the facility would be open until 2 a.m. The concerns were primarily about noise, but Topgolf representatives agreed to install a noise limiter for music at the site.
Resident Joseph Churilla said he lives a couple hundred yards from the site and he isn’t concerned about the noise, especially with so much competition in the area from other restaurants and traffic.
“I just don’t think there’s going to be a problem there,” he said.
At the conclusion of testimony, board member William Araujo said he was grateful that Topgolf selected Edison for its newest facility.
“Thank you for coming here to Edison,” he said. “This is a great project.”