Redevelopers looking at Traders Cove, Foodtown
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer

BRICK TOWNSHIP - Residents can expect big news in the next few weeks concerning the future of the Traders Cove site, council President Stephen C. Acropolis said.

"This is going to be a home run," he said.

The township has had discussions with several redevelopers who are interested in the site off Mantoloking Road, he said.

"We have a couple of redevelopers, but we believe we have narrowed it down to a redeveloper who is interested in doing all of the things we talked about."

The township closed on the $8 million land deal with Paramount Homes on Dec. 13, 2005, after several years of wrangling in court and negotiations with the developer. The original plans included a renovated marina, a boating museum and a bait and tackle shop.

The Township Council and Planning Board this summer declared the Traders Cove site an "area in need of redevelopment" after some of the township's acquisition partners failed to follow through with the money.

The township's share of the purchase price was $1.5 million. The state Department of Environmental Protection was expected to provide between $5 million and $6 million in Green Acres grants, the Board of Freeholders $1.5 million, $1 million from the nonprofit Save Barnegat Bay, and $500,000 from an anonymous donor.

Only the county has come through. The township expects to receive a $1.5 million check from the county over the next several weeks, Acropolis said.

The redeveloper would continue with the township's original plans for the site, he said.

"We hope to have somewhere in the neighborhood of $7.5 million to $8 million for that property," he said. "The redeveloper will build the marina, the museum and the park at no cost to the taxpayers."

In a related matter, the township has 10 redevelopers interested in the old Foodtown site on Route 70, which has sat vacant since Brick purchased it several years ago.

"One is a major hotel chain," he said. "According to traffic experts, that would have the least amount of traffic input into that area."

The Planning Board also declared the Foodtown site an area in need of redevelopment this summer.

"This is about the money," Acropolis said. "We want to make sure we can get these things done for the taxpayers."