MARLBORO – An application proposing the construction of a 54,440-square-foot sports facility covered by an inflatable dome has been approved by the Marlboro Planning Board.
An application submitted by Amboy Avenue Partners, LLC, was heard at the board’s June 6 meeting and approved by Chairman Mark Barenburg and board members Lynn Franco, Rohit Gupta, Steven Kansky and Michael Slotopolsky. Vice Chairman Andrew Pargament recused himself from the application.
The site of the new sports facility is 185 Amboy Road, which is also the location of the Centercourt Tennis Center at Marlboro. The tennis center includes six tennis courts, 49 parking spaces and a driveway from Amboy Road.
Amboy Avenue Partners was represented by attorney Salvatore Alfieri. The property the applicant will develop is behind the Centercourt Tennis Center and totals 7.8 acres. The parcel borders Route 18.
Amboy Avenue Partners proposed to revise the paved looped circulation drive around the existing building in order to provide access to the new sports facility and to include patron drop-off areas. The application proposed 82 additional parking spaces and a paved driveway north of the sports facility for emergency access. The developer will provide what is referred to as “banked spaces” for an additional 10 to 15 parking spaces, if needed.
The application also proposed the construction of a 20-foot by 30-foot storage shed and a mechanical equipment/system fence enclosure, including a generator. No changes to the existing site access was proposed with the application.
Kevin Costello, representing Amboy Avenue Partners, said the indoor turf sports facility would primarily be used for soccer and lacrosse as a youth sports training facility with few to no spectator events. The facility could be divided into a maximum of five areas if needed. Costello said the building would not have open gym time and he said any uses would have to be scheduled ahead of time.
The target audience for the sports facility is children between the ages of 6 and 14, and Costello said there would be one site manager on duty with two coaches per field with a maximum of 10 coaches available.
Hours of operations are expected to be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with peak hours from 4-9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The applicant initially sought weekend hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., but was asked, and agreed to open at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday because the building is near a residential development.