Hotel may be the future for old Foodtown site BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent BRICK TOWNSHIP - A recommendation for the redevelopment of the old Foodtown site onRoute 70 should be in the hands of Planning Board members by next week, Township PlannerMichael Fowler said. "We're fine tuning the plan now," he said. "It's drafted and we're revising it." Fowler gave a presentation to the board at a specialMarch 12meeting, that included the history of the site, the redevelopment process, and the special concerns the township and community have with the 11-acre property off Route 70. The planwill include suggestions for the prohibited and allowed uses for the site, Fowler said. "The use that comes up most often is a hotel," Fowler said. "The township has 75,000 people and no hotel and banquet facilities. Ahotel would be a good focal point." Redevelopment allows the township to have greater flexibility not available under regular land use laws; allowsmunicipalities to work with qualified redevelopers under binding agreements; and grants access to federal and state aid, Fowler said. "Redevelopment is a far more certain plan," Fowler said. The plan will also incorporate "green" building technologies andwill take into consideration traffic issues on Route 70 and the site's neighbors, St. Thomas Church and Forge Pond. "We want something that compliments the surrounding land uses," Fowler said. The planning department is also looking at vehicular and pedestrian access fromthe site to the proposed future site of the township community center at the Ocean Ice Palace on Chambers Bridge Road, he said. After the Planning Board reviews the redevelopment plan for the site, it will be forwarded to Township Councilmembers, who will hold hearings on the plan and develop ordinances governing the redevelopment, Fowler said. Once the ordinances are adopted, township officials will select a redeveloper and enter into redevelopment agreement. The redeveloper would then present a site plan to the Planning Board for its approval. "Hopefully they'd be coming to use with something you're already familiar with," Fowler told the board. Although the plan can vary slightly from the redevelopment plan, any major alterations would require changes to the ordinances. The future of the site, which was once home to the 30,0000-square-foot Foodtown and a 90,000-square-foot Bradlees store has been uncertain since the township purchased it for $6.1 million in 2003. Township officials wanted to thwart the construction of a Home Depot store and planned to construct a community center on the site. But the project proved too costly, so township officials decided to look for a buyer to get the property back on the tax rolls. Last July, the Township Council designated the site in need for redevelopment and charged the planning department to come up with suggestions for the site. But the plan has been delayed as the department focused its efforts on coming upwith a redevelopment plan for the Traders Cove Marina site on Mantoloking Road. "We've had 30 to 40 interested parties since designating the [Foodtown] site for redevelopment and putting the for sale sign on the property," said Fowler. The next Planning Board meeting is a workshop meeting scheduled for March 26 at 7 p.m.