Jones Lang LaSalle
Plan to Redevelop 52-Acre Industrial Site Advances
By Eric Peterson
Last updated: February 23, 2006 03:50pm
ABERDEEN, NJ-The township council this week officially conferred “area in need of redevelopment” status on a 52-acre former industrial site in the Cliffwood Beach section of this Monmouth County township, and has named Somerset Development Co. as the site’s designated redeveloper. The designations came after Somerset officials rolled out general conceptual plans for turning the blighted former Anchor Glass Container into a mixed-use town center.
The process began in mid-2004 when the Lakewood, NJ-based Somerset Development bought the abandoned tract from Anchor Glass, reportedly paying about $30 million for the site and its abandoned 790,000-sf industrial complex. The Tampa-based Anchor Glass had used the site for manufacturing for a number of years before converting it to warehouse and distribution use and then shutting it down entirely in the wake of financial problems and a bankruptcy declaration in recent years.
Somerset’s plans are very general at this point, with the firm’s president, Raphael Zucker outlining a concept of “hundreds of apartments and townhouses,” an office component, at least one hotel, and up to three big-box stores anchoring the site’s retail component. According to Zucker, his firm “will incorporate input from major stakeholders and members of the community” before finalizing site plans.
After Somerset’s presentation, Mayor David Sobel told council members, “the development has to give people from the entire region a reason to go there. If Somerset can accomplish that, the project can be successful.”
The council also set a nine-day period running through next week to negotiate timelines for the project. The next step in the process would be to finalize site plans and bring a final proposal before the township’s planning board, according to Sobel.
Site remediation will also be a factor in the development process, with the extent of its contamination currently under study. Anchor Glass, in fact, was fined in 2001 for environmentally related violations, and the plant was temporarily closed.
But if all goes well, “we will give the community a heart and soul.” Zucker told township council members this week. “It will be a place where people can walk for milk without having to get in their cars. It will be a counter to suburban sprawl.”
Plan to Redevelop 52-Acre Industrial Site Advances
By Eric Peterson
Last updated: February 23, 2006 03:50pm
ABERDEEN, NJ-The township council this week officially conferred “area in need of redevelopment” status on a 52-acre former industrial site in the Cliffwood Beach section of this Monmouth County township, and has named Somerset Development Co. as the site’s designated redeveloper. The designations came after Somerset officials rolled out general conceptual plans for turning the blighted former Anchor Glass Container into a mixed-use town center.
The process began in mid-2004 when the Lakewood, NJ-based Somerset Development bought the abandoned tract from Anchor Glass, reportedly paying about $30 million for the site and its abandoned 790,000-sf industrial complex. The Tampa-based Anchor Glass had used the site for manufacturing for a number of years before converting it to warehouse and distribution use and then shutting it down entirely in the wake of financial problems and a bankruptcy declaration in recent years.
Somerset’s plans are very general at this point, with the firm’s president, Raphael Zucker outlining a concept of “hundreds of apartments and townhouses,” an office component, at least one hotel, and up to three big-box stores anchoring the site’s retail component. According to Zucker, his firm “will incorporate input from major stakeholders and members of the community” before finalizing site plans.
After Somerset’s presentation, Mayor David Sobel told council members, “the development has to give people from the entire region a reason to go there. If Somerset can accomplish that, the project can be successful.”
The council also set a nine-day period running through next week to negotiate timelines for the project. The next step in the process would be to finalize site plans and bring a final proposal before the township’s planning board, according to Sobel.
Site remediation will also be a factor in the development process, with the extent of its contamination currently under study. Anchor Glass, in fact, was fined in 2001 for environmentally related violations, and the plant was temporarily closed.
But if all goes well, “we will give the community a heart and soul.” Zucker told township council members this week. “It will be a place where people can walk for milk without having to get in their cars. It will be a counter to suburban sprawl.”
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 3:50 PM
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