Coaster Photo
Orchard Plaza on Route 35 in Ocean Township has been losing tenants.
By WILLIAM CLARK
The Ocean Township Council has placed a resolution on the agenda for the Jan. 9 to identify the Orchard Plaza as an area in need of redevelopment.
The site along Route 35 South has long been a point of consternation for residents and elected officials.
If approved, the resolution would authorize the Planning Board to study whether the township could condemn the site and authorize eminent domain.
“I’m not going to sit and let our town look like that,” Mayor John Napolitani said.
Napolitani said the council held off on any potential action for the last nine months as there was discussion over the site being sold.
“We were told by a realtor they had a buyer,” he said.
But as June turned into September and finally the end of the year, Napolitani said the township could not wait any longer for the owner and potential buyers to come to an agreement.
If the Planning Board ultimately gives the approval, Napolitani said the process could take a year.
Napolitani said the council frequently hears concerns about the site. Code enforcement makes routine visits, he said.
“There was an outcry from people about this,” he said.
With the beautification of Route 35 one of the many priorities for the council during this term, Napolitani said they had no choice but to take action to prevent further deterioration at the site.
Napolitani said that part of this process is making sure that Ocean Township is prepared for the future, specifically with the construction of the Netflix complex at the former Fort Monmouth site. With the influx of people that the new Netflix project will bring, Napolitani said he wants to make sure Ocean Township is a valid option for those looking for places to spend time and money.
“If we have a nice complex and nicer places to live with shops and restaurants, we’ll be a destination for them as well,” he said.
What used to house restaurants, a doctor’s office and day care now only has one tenant. The surface of the parking lot, especially behind the buildings Napolitani said, is in disrepair and both a danger in addition to its state of aesthetics.
“People elected us to get things done and not sit on our hands,” he said.
