By WILLIAM CLARK
Ocean Township has scheduled a presentation Tues., March 18 on the potential locations for a new town hall building.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the municipal building.
Several sites in the township have been identified and reviewed. During the meeting discussions will include reconstruction of the current building, the site of the Board of Education property on Monmouth Road and Orchard Plaza on Route 35.
Studies by Remington and Vernick Engineers have been done on each potential location. The firm did a comprehensive study determining the positives and negatives of each site and how well each could be used as a new site. Mayor John Napolitani said an additional study was conducted on the Route 35 corridor in preparation for an upcoming economic summit for township stakeholders.
The township approved a resolution in January condemning the Orchard Plaza property and sent the question to the Planning Board to determine if it is an area in need of redevelopment.
“We felt a lot of pressure from the community looking at that area,” Napolitani said, referring to the dilapidated look and high vacancy rate of the strip mall. “We’re tired of seeing an empty shopping center.”
The township would need to clear several hurdles first with the current owner in order to move forward. New Councilman Jeff Weinstein is spearheading the economic summit for the highway corridor. Napolitani said the summit is essential to prepare Ocean Township for a future where major studios by Netflix will be operating in Eatontown, showing that Ocean can become a viable location supporting that development.
The 193 page study by the engineering firm is available online or through an OPRA request at the town hall according to the township’s social media post.
