Neptune Plan Calls for Hotel, Condominiums
By DON STINE
Neptune officials believe they have found the recipe for success that will spur development at the former Garden State Hi-Tech site which straddles Route 18 at Route 66.
Three high-rise condominium units, a hotel and office and retail space will be allowed to be built at the site under an ordinance adopted by the Township Committee Monday night.
The amendment for residential to the redevelopment plan, which originally called for only office and high-technology industries, was approved by the Planning Board last month.
This is not only a condominium plan but a mixed-use plan. Condominiums are a very small piece of the project, said Mayor Randy Bishop. Today marks an important milestone in the history of Neptune Township. This project is another cog in our effort to bring economic stability and growth to Neptune Township to ensure a sustainable future here in Neptune for our residents.
The redevelopment plan, proposed by developer 18 Neptune Associates, has been revised at least three times since it was first presented eight years ago. The roughly 170-acre site lies on both sides of Route 18 near Neptune Boulevard, West Bangs Avenue and Route 66.
The revision will allow three residential towers to be built at the site with a total of 288 units.
A conference center, a hotel, retail spaces and hi-tech uses are also planned, Bishop said.
18 Neptune Associates LLC, the owner of the property, proposes to develop the east side of Route 18 with a total of 122,350 square feet of retail, 424,800 square feet of office and a 12-story hotel with a conference center. On the west side of Route 18, 18 Neptune Associates, LLC proposes to develop 165,400
square feet of retail and 192,000 square feet of office space.
The project, which originally received General Development Plan approval in 2000 was slowed by the economic changes in the high-tech industry after September 11, 2001. After several years of working to prepare and market the site as a CyberDistrict, the owners and the township recognized that such a development was not in the foreseeable future. Officials said the 51- acre eastern parcel located on Neptune Boulevard remained appropriate for office development along with retail and the development of a hotel with a conference center. Based upon this review, the committee voted to amend the Redevelopment Plan for this parcel in hopes of seeing progress on this site in the near future.
Not only does the plan take advantage of the $300 million dollar investment made in the expansion of Jersey Shore University Medical Center, but at the same time, it meets the needs of the expanded workforce that will be employed at the hospital and provides space for the businesses and conferences that typically locate in the area of a high quality university medical center such as ours, Bishop said.
This amended Redevelopment Plan demonstrates our ability to recognize and react to the needs of our community as opposed to sitting back and allowing outdated plans to dictate the future growth of Neptune. This redevelopment plan should result in a private investment in the development of Neptune Township in excess of $300 million dollars.
Neptune officials said the proposed construction of the site will provide substantial tax revenues to the township and will have a beneficial impact on the businesses in the area.
Residents expressed concern Monday night that access to the project will be from West Bangs Avenue and that may have an adverse impact to nearby Wayside Road.
Residents urged that traffic be directed to major thoroughfares as much as possible and not to surrounding secondary roads.
Other residents said the residential units may add an additional burden to local services, such as fire and police.
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