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Route 70 Foodtown Site To Be Sold For Redevelopment?
By Catherine Galioto
Long vacant and crumbling, the old Foodtown sits at Route 70 and Brick Blvd., an empty, lifeless shambles.
Last week, the township council voted to move forward with the big question: what to do with Foodtown?
The answer is not yet clear. But the Township Council's step officially deems the tract as in need of redevelopment.
Councilman Michael Thulen said that's an important step toward doing something worthwhile with the empty building and surrounding lot.
"Right now, the site is commercial," Thulen said. "When you make it a redevelopment area, you can introduce mixed use."
Instead of simply selling the property to a commercial interest - Home Depot once sought building approvals there - the Foodtown can become an area with a variety of uses, mixing park, recreation and commercial, officials said.
The vote is an initial step to renovating the disrepair at the site. It could allow a redevelopment firm to buy the site and set forth its plans.
Council President Stephen Acropolis said the property is just sitting there. By selling it and putting some sort of business there, the old Foodtown would become a tax ratable again, he said.
"We're trying to get it on the tax rolls as soon as we can," Acropolis said.
The site could become one that uses the neighboring body of water in a way residents can enjoy, but it could also have a business alongside it, he said. Some ideas include a Marriott hotel, a Wegman's or Whole Foods supermarket.
Thulen said he's like to invite some firms who make a point to include "green," or environmentally friendly, aspects to the site. He's seen firms do creative things like put parks on top of buildings, and is hoping whoever steps forward for the project include aspects that protect and enhance the nearby waterway.
Councilwoman Kathy Russell agreed. "They should realize it's along Forge Pond, and preserve some green area," she said.
Acropolis said the bypass road would remain a part of the site. Vehicles use it now to turn from Route 88.
For five years, the property went unused after closing years prior. A source of much debate, the site was a possible spot for a Home Depot location, but public outcry resulted in the township purchasing the property. After that, officials wondered whether the site could become the township's recreation center. As the debate raged on, the property was left to crumble.
Now, Acropolis said he'd rather sell the site to a developer, who will put a combination of those uses - commercial and recreational - there.
With this in mind, voting to add the site to the redevelopment zone was a bit of an obvious move, Acropolis said.
"Anyone who drives by there knows that in the last six years it's an area in need of development," he said.
But why wasn't this done sooner? Acropoknow lis said it's not important why officials over the last half decade didn't act; what is important, he argued, is that now the township is taking steps.
The Planning Board gave its blessing to the redevelopment decision at its previous meeting. The Planning Board would have input and would ultimately vote on plans for the site after a redeveloper is chosen and its plans are presented.
Brick Township bought the site in 2003, paying a developer $6.1 million for the approximately 11 acres. It abuts the Metedeconk River.
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