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Plans Moving Forward For Sale, Redevelopment Of Foodtown Site
By Catherine Galioto
Township staff is ironing out a redevelopment plan for the former Foodtown site, and have this fall set as a goal for the next step in getting the crumbling tract back on the tax rolls.
Ultimately, the township would like a developer to buy the site and turn it into something that is both environmentally sound - considering the nearby water source - and that also keeps in mind traffic issues at its front door, Route 70 and Brick Boulevard.
Beyond that, the township sees the sale of the Foodtown site as a way to generate revenue, both in the form of a sale and also because whoever buys the property will be paying property taxes on the site.
To that end, Brick officials are working on a redevelopment plan with an anticipated date of completion this fall. The township planners' office will present a plan to the township council, which then votes on it. This would pave the way for businesses to come in, buy the property and rebuild the site based on the parameters of the redevelopment plan.
Those parameters are what township planners are working on now. The old Foodtown sits on 10.9 acres adjacent to the Forge Pond and Metedeconk River.
The site became township property in 2003 when the township purchased the former Foodtown site on Route 70 for $6.1 million with the intent to build a community center there. It would have cost roughly $33 million, to transform the Foodtown site into a community center, according to an estimate by KBA Architecture, Milltown.
Instead of taking on that project, the township has set its sites on the Ocean Ice Palace and surrounding tract on Chambers Bridge Road as the spot for a community center.
Meanwhile, in the years since its purchase, the Foodtown site continued to crumble.
Councilman Michael Thulen is looking forward to selling the site. While the ice rink is usable and in use right now, the Foodtown site would have required a lot of work to turn it into anything usable.
"That building will be demolished," he said. "There is no comparison between the condition of that site and this one."
Besides having the site return to the tax base, officials are hoping to use the sale of the property to possibly pay for its plans at the Ice Palace.
What will become of the Foodtown site remains a mystery until the township planissue ners draft possible redevelopment plans. Residents and officials have urged the site combine a business use with "green" tracts, such as a park.
When the township voted to classify the site as in need of redevelopment in August, it opened up possibilities called "mixed use," which combine business and other uses into one site.
Some residents have spoken up, urging officials to mind the surrounding waterways. The redevelopment of the site could create a prime spot to enjoy and protect the Forge Pond and Metedeconk River.
Others said they hope the business is one that does not add more traffic to the congested intersection. More than 675 feet of the property fronts Route 70.
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