Report lays out goals, possibilities for Rt. 33

A graphic showing Monroe’s stretch of Route 33 categorizes various areas looked at by the land use task force. The area labeled N3 is the proposed location of Monroe Marketplace, which would include a minor league ballpark. Area S1 would be home to Monroe Town Center, while S2 is the proposed site of Monroe Business Centers. Ballpark complex

could hinge on outcome

of Manalapan plan

BY SETH MANDEL

Staff Writer

Rather than swinging for the fences, a Monroe Township task force has taken a more disciplined approach with the proposal for a ballpark complex.

The Route 33 Land Development Task Force, chaired by Planning Board member Joe Montanti, released an interim report last week after slowing the pursuit of the complex to conduct traffic and tax impact studies.

The report discusses the group’s objectives as well as current conditions and proposed projects on Route 33, including a proposal that includes a minor league ballpark, retail, housing, a park-and-ride facility and other amenities.

Called the Monroe Marketplace, the project would be located on the westbound side of Route 33 between Perrineville and Bentley roads. Along with a ballpark, high-end retail space, luxury condominiums, commuter lot and a performing arts center, the land would also be home to a

new Make-A-Wish Foundation headquarters, built to look like a castle.

Edgewood Properties, which holds the development option on that land, has donated space for the Make-A-Wish headquarters.

The task force noted that a park-and-ride facility would generate revenue and help ease traffic in town while providing needed space for commuters. There are currently park-and-rides on Applegarth Road and on Route 130 in South Brunswick.

Another proposal mentioned in the report is Monroe Town Center, which would be located on the eastbound side of the highway and include luxury condominiums, neighborhood commercial retail, and a restaurant. The land, on which developer Anatole Hiller has the development option, is bordered by Butcher Road to the east and East Windsor Township to the west.

Also on the eastbound side of Route 33 would be Monroe Business Centers, which involves two warehouse totaling 1.85 million square feet of space. Proposed by Federal Business Centers, the warehouses’ highway access would be at a proposed traffic signal about 3,000 feet west of Perrineville Road. The project is still in the discussion stage.

The new traffic signal would also be the main highway access point for the Monroe Marketplace, should it be built.

The report also mentions an approved application for “big box” stores and smaller retail operations with a restaurant at Route 33 and Butcher Road, but the developer has not moved forward, reportedly due to problems securing potential tenants.

Joining Montanti on the committee, which was assembled by Mayor Richard Pucci in June, are Councilman Henry Miller, Township Engineer Ernest Feist, Planning Board Chairman David DeMarco and Affordable Housing Officer Helga Stoessler. Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton and Planning Board Attorney Jerome Convery are among the advisers to the task force.

Montanti said the traffic and tax studies, as well as an additional study on the effects that the condominiums would have on the school system, should be completed by late October. Those studies are an exercise in caution, and an attempt to ensure that if the ballpark complex is constructed, it will be done correctly, he said.

“If the ballpark is going to happen, it … should not be a burden on the taxpayers of the township and the county,” Montanti said. “It really needs to be something that relatively pays for itself, which isn’t easy.”

The interim report reiterates a goal officials have stated from the beginning — that the development of Route 33 should in no way resemble the piecemeal, traffic-inducing development that can be seen along routes 9 and 18 and other highways that lack the uniform, integrated sensibility officials desire for Route 33.

The studies, though time consuming, should provide officials with enough information to bring their vision for the highway to life, Montanti said. The most important study, he noted, may be that of the effect that condos would have on the school system.

As for the financing of the complex, Montanti said the task force has all but ruled out declaring the land a redevelopment zone, which would provide more financial flexibility but is more complicated and would take significantly longer to complete.

“Time is of the essence,” he said.

While Montanti said the project should not be done hastily, the report makes it clear that a 500,000-square-foot retail project proposed on Route 33 in Manalapan would greatly endanger any possibility of the Monroe Marketplace, should it be approved. The proposal, which conforms with Manalapan’s zoning laws, will continue to be heard by that town’s Planning Board on Nov. 10.

“We can’t short-circuit the process and not do the research, because the last thing we want to do is beat Manalapan to the punch and end up with something we don’t want in the end,” Montanti said.

The Manalapan project, proposed by Manalapan Retail Realty Partners LLC, seeks preliminary site plan approval for 61 retail establishments, restaurants, a bank and a supermarket on a 134-acre property at Route 33 and Millhurst Road.

The possibility exists that the developer would seek to add to that project in the future, and if so, that could allow more time for the ballpark complex to come along in Monroe.

“If he gets the approval on just the retail, and he actually starts to build, that’s going to kill our deal,” Montanti said. “But my feeling is he’s probably not going to do anything until he gets the other components.”

Even if the Manalapan Planning Board denies the project, it is unlikely that a court would uphold such a decision, the task force notes in the interim report.

Montanti said the approval of the project in Manalapan would not necessarily make the ballpark disappear, because the approval may not be acted on for one reason or another. He noted that Monroe has applications that were approved 10 years ago and have yet to be built.

“So the question is, ‘Is he going to move forward with that, or is he just going to put that in the side pocket and continue on trying to get the rest of the development?’” Montanti said, adding that if the ballpark complex moves forward at a reasonable pace, it just might be fast enough.

“It’s conceivable, even if they get the approval, that we would still move forward,” Montanti said, stressing that officials are moving on the ballpark because it could be a substantial benefit to the community, not simply to develop the highway before Manalapan.

“This isn’t a game,” he said. “We don’t want to spend money or time on something that may not happen.”

If the ballpark is to be constructed, it must include all proposed facets of the complex, and provide tax revenue with little or no negative impact on the school district and the community in general, Montanti said.

“Let’s face it, nobody wants to pay any additional taxes,” Montanti said. “If it could happen, we think it would be a very positive thing for the residents of the township and the county and the surrounding areas, because it would be a great family place of entertainment. But it can’t be something that the taxpayers foot the bill on. It really has to be something that can stand alone and is self-supporting.”