Foodtown site being eyed as rec center
Council vote not ‘site specific,’ but study funded for possible complex
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer

Officials downplayed speculation last week that Brick will try to acquire the vacant Foodtown site that applicants are seeking to redevelop as a Home Depot.

However, recent action taken by the Township Council indicates that the possibility exists.

The council emerged from a closed-session meeting on Feb. 4 to pass a resolution allocating funds to conduct a study on potential sites for a sports complex/recreation center. The work will be done by consulting firm AUS Pathways, Moorestown, for a sum not to exceed $40,000.

Brick Business Adminis-trator Scott MacFadden said the measure was not "site specific," but acknowledged that the vacant Foodtown site, located on Route 70 and Brick Boulevard, is one of several being considered for a possible project.

"It was something we needed to do whether the Home Depot came up or not," MacFadden said.

The vacant supermarket is owned by Food Circus Supermarkets of Middletown, according to Ocean County Clerk’s Office records. Development firm Preit Services, LLC, of Philadelphia is the tract’s contract purchaser on behalf of Home Depot.

Andy Bottaro of Preit Services could not be reached for comment.

MacFadden said reports of a $6 million price range for the 11-acre commercial tract were accurate.

"It’s a very steep acquisition cost, given the fact that it’s an already developed commercial property, which is not something we typically pursue, like pristine open space," MacFadden said.

He added that the township is committed to protecting open space, and was examining its options regarding the tract.

The move to study potential sites for a recreation center came a week after Councilman Stephen Acropolis called on fellow elected leaders to purchase the property and develop it for that purpose or a new police station. Acropolis has been a vocal objector to the Home Depot application, agreeing with concerns by objecting environmental and citizen groups.

Plans were once all but final for a recreation center’s creation on Chambers Bridge Road. The municipality was prepared to partner with a private firm that would operate the facility for several years, then turn it over to the township. But the plan fell apart after the 9/11 attacks caused financial uncertainties for the private firm.

Acropolis seconded MacFadden’s financial concerns for the Foodtown site’s hefty price tag, but said he believes it would be worth it, and that a solution can be found. The councilman proposed the possibility of the township pooling its funds with private groups such as the Concerned Citizens of Brick, who have proposed that residents pay a sum of money to buy a "brick for Brick" to dedicate in a potential walkway on the property.

"It will be expensive, and we might still need help," Acropolis said. "There are some creative ways we could do it, and I think Scott MacFadden is a creative business administrator, and we can figure it out."

Ronald Gasiorowski, an attorney who represents the Concerned Citizens of Brick, said he has not been contacted by Brick officials on the matter.

Acropolis said any recreation center plan would include two hockey rinks and a swimming pool for senior citizens’ use, among other components.

"Obviously, Brick is rich as a hockey community, and I think that would do very well," Acropolis said. "It has to be self-sufficient, because we can’t raise taxes to do it. People can’t afford it anymore."

The Home Depot project has drawn fire from environmentalists because the Forge Pond section of the Metedeconk River is on the property’s perimeter, close to a point where the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA) draws its drinking water. Save Barnegat Bay President William deCamp sent a letter to BTMUA Chairman Daniel Newman last week urging the authority to condemn the property for open space purposes.

"We are concerned that the (BTMUA), whose cash reserves were reported several years ago as being over $30 million, is not purchasing sufficient conservation lands to protect the purity of the water in the Metedeconk Watershed," deCamp wrote.

During a telephone interview last week, deCamp reaffirmed his belief in the importance of such a purchase. He received no return contact on his letter by the BTMUA, he said.

"The logic is clear: we can’t have crank case oil in our drinking water," deCamp said. "It’s a very important thing for the public to watch."

BTMUA Commissioner Kevin Donald said deCamp’s surplus figures were inaccurate, and called any speculation about BTMUA funds being used in a purchase "premature."

"I read (about deCamp’s call for a purchase) in the paper, and saw it in the letter, but there’s been no discussions so far. That’s not to say there won’t be," Donald said.

Acropolis, however, said he "would be very surprised to see that (site) become a Home Depot" if public opposition remained strong to the plan. He also said he would consider picketing if the township decided to move ahead on a purchase, and the Home Depot applicants resisted.

"I have no problem getting up in front of the Home Depot in Lakewood and telling everyone that they aren’t being a good partner," Acropolis said.