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Township May Get Use Of Office Space In Swap With Homes Now
By Catherine Snipe
It's a reciprocal relationship Homes Now helps Brick fulfill its affordable housing needs, and the township donates the land to the agency so it can build on it.
But next week the township council will decide a land swap that's neither for homes nor owned by the township.
In this case, the land swap is for office space Homes Now no longer needs for its offices. The township will use the land, which has an existing office building on it, should the township council approve the land donation at its September 12 meeting.
Homes Now has helped to build a number of affordablehousing units scattered throughout Brick township.
"If we had excess land and didn't sell it outright, we could donate or lease it to them for a dollar," said acting Business Administrator Scott M. Pezarres.
Then, Homes Now would begin building on the property.
In the coming ordinance, Homes Now hopes to donate land it owns to the township. The cost: $1.
It's a figure used in cases of land donation, Pezarres said. In this case, the land Homes Now hopes to donate was once owned by the township.
"We gave it to them with the intention that they'd build an office building for themselves on it," Pezarres said.
Homes Now got the approvals and all other documents to begin their operations there, in an office building on Route 88. However, the agency found it would outgrow the facility sooner than expected, considering the size of its staff, the need for parking and its growing operations.
Pezarres said Homes Now elected to find another office space to accommodate its operations, and would have left the land vacant had the township not found a need.
"They approached the town and said 'we want to give it back to you'," he said.
The land stretches over four zoning lots in Block 770.
The ordinance was introduced at the township council's August 22 meeting and is scheduled for second reading at the September 12 meeting.
A second ordinance up for vote at that meeting would allow Brick to align its flood plan language with new state and federal mandates. The council will meet at 7 p.m. on September 12 in town hall.
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