Developers fine-tune proposals for old Foodtown site
Whoever is picked for project must provide Rt. 70 upgrades, mayor says
BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent
The four developers vying for the chance to transform the former Foodtown site on Route 70 held a question-andanswer session at the Nov. 10 Brick Township Council meeting.

Three of the four developers also presented changes to their proposals for the 10.5-acre site during the 2.5-hour presentation.

"Whatever developer the council picks will be an improvement over the site," Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said. "Whoever the developer is will have to do some major improvements along that Route 70 corridor, and we don't have to pay for it. They know that. It will hopefully improve traffic in that area."

Paramount Realty Services Inc., Lakewood, proposed a four-story, 125-room Marriott Courtyard or Residence Inn on the property. The design also calls for a 20,000- square-foot, two-story banquet hall connected to the hotel by a portico, as well as a restaurant and CVS/pharmacy on the site.

Paramount increased its bid for the property from $4.8 million to $6 million and added a 25,000-squarefoot retail/office building to be constructed adjacent to the banquet hall

"Our theme is balance," said Rich Kenderian, of Kenderian Zilinski Associates. "The uses for the property are compatible. It's not over or under intensive."

Paramount Realty Services, which owns the Town Hall Shoppes on Cedar Bridge Avenue and Boulevard Square on Brick Boulevard, has dubbed its plan Forge Pond Plaza.

M&M Realty Partners, which is made up of Edgewood Properties, Piscataway, and JMP Holdings, Clifton, has also proposed to build a four-story, 120- room hotel but without a banquet facility.

"I'm not going to rule it out," said Ron Aulenbach for M&M, "But under the current economic conditions I can't guarantee you one."

M&M's proposal also calls for 73,000 square feet of retail space, including a 45,730-square-foot grocery store. Two restaurant pads would be placed at the front of the property.

"We believe that for this to be a success, you need retail to anchor your facility," Aulenbach said. "That's what pays the bills, the taxes, the rent."

Although Aulenbach said that it was too premature for him to commit to the names of potential retailers, he said M&M was seeking out a specialty grocery store, like a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.

M&M has offered $7.5 million for the site, which it has named the Metedeconk Village Redevelopment.

"This plan seems more traffic

intense than the last one" said council President Ruthanne Scaturro. "The less retail you have, the less the traffic impact would be. I also have real concerns about the lack of a banquet facility." M&M Realty Partners owns Parkway 70 Plaza, which

Houlihan's and Christmas Tree Shops.

"Costco and Houlihan's had the biggest openings in their history even under the current economic conditions," Aulenbach said. "Brick is very vibrant."

TBG Developers, based in Blue Bell, Pa., has proposed a 124-room Marriott Courtyard, with a 20,000- square-foot banquet facility attached to the hotel in the rear. An area behind the hotel would also be reserved for a pool, courtyard and picnic area.

TBG's plan also calls for the construction of two 14-story towers, which flank the hotel, instead of the originally proposed 15 stories.

The first floor of each tower would house retail space. The next three floors would be reserved for office space and the remaining 10 floors would be residential space, made up of one-, two- and threebedroom rental apartments.

"We understand the sensitive environmental and traffic issues with this site," said Paul Badger of TBG Developers. "That is why we are building within the current footprint of the Foodtown site."

Badger said that the 170 to 180 apartments would rent from about $800 to $1,400 monthly, with the possibility of a conversion to condominiums in the future.

TBG is considering boutiquestyle retail, such as a day spa or Internet café, in order to limit traffic, he said.

"We're not looking for a transient type of customer," said Badger.

TBG has not yet submitted a price for the site.

"Our price would be reflected by what is allowed," Badger said. "If it is necessary to reduce the height of the towers, then we would want to discuss a price that would be a break-even price for us. We will be competitive with any other offer that is before the council and before the township."

"Would you be competitive low end or competitive high end?" Scaturro said. "That's a very relative term."

"We will be competitive with the offers you are considering," said Badger.

"I'm getting out of this conversation what we have to sit down and negotiate, and quite honestly I don't know if I want to negotiate as much as get an idea of where we need to be from the beginning," said Councilman Michael Thulen. "Maybe if you could put together a price structure, like 14 stories is this much and 10 stories is this much. I feel like we're playing a game of poker with you right now."

"We were hesitant to give firm numbers three or four months ago because of economic markets in flux," said Badger. "But an offer of $7.5 million would be achievable for us."

First Montgomery Group has proposed a hotel and banquet facility, along with an apartment complex to be built on Foodtown's footprint.

"This is not just another big-box development in a series of such developments along Route 70," Steve Jaffey of First Montgomery Group said. "We want to bring the water feature up and around the front of the property."

First Montgomery Group's $6 million plan calls for the construction of a 100-room hotel with a 4,000-square-foot banquet facility, 151 age-targeted residential units, 17,500 square feet of office and retail space, 552 parking spaces, restaurants, a courtyard, recreation seating, pathways and amenities.

"It's a village setting that's inviting to pedestrians and the public," Jaffey said. "It has a downtown feel and look."

The hotel would sit on the left of the property and connect to the residential/retail space on the right. The retail space would be on the ground floor, with the three floors of apartments above it, he said.

The high-end apartment units, which would rent for about $1,600 to $1,800 for a two-bedroom unit, were placed on the right side of the property to give residents a view of Forge Pond, Jaffey said.

The property, which was once home to a 30,000-square-foot Foodtown supermarket and a 90,000-square-foot Bradlees, has been vacant since before Brick bought it in 2003 for $6.1 million.

By purchasing the land, the township thwarted Home Depot's plan to build a store on the site. Officials had planned to renovate the site for a community center, but that project proved too costly. Township officials have been looking for a way to get it back on the tax rolls.

The Planning Board in July 2007 declared the property in need of redevelopment. One month later, council members directed the board to prepare criteria for the "Metedeconk Village Redevelopment Plan."

In March, the Planning Board had determined that a hotel and banquet facility would best serve the needs of the community, with the least impact on traffic in the area. The township sent out requests for proposals in July. The four developers presented their plans in early fall