Town approves retail uses for Legends site
Republican warns area could wind up like Rt. 18 in E. Brunswick
BY MARLENE CANTY
Staff Writer

OLD BRIDGE - An amended Crossroads Redevelopment Plan will allow future retail uses on a parcel of land owned by Legends Golf Center.

The Township Council on Monday voted 7-2 to amend the redevelopment plan, with the council's sole Republicans Richard Greene and Lucille Panos casting the dissenting votes.

"How that area is developed is crucial because it will set the whole tone for the Route 18 area," Greene said.

The 53-acre Legends site, which is a tenth of the otherwise township-owned Crossroads parcel, became the focal point of an ongoing dispute when its owner, Greg Matzel, failed to get Zoning Board of Adjustment approval for 450 apartment units on the then R-120-zoned site in 2004.

The township subsequently adopted the Crossroads Redevelopment Plan, which would have allowed for hotel/convention center and office uses on the Legends parcel. Matzel found the zone too confining and sued the township, resulting in an eventual settlement in which the town agreed to amend the redevelopment plan to include office/hotel as well as highway-commercial district uses.

The amended redevelopment plan allows Legends owner Matzel "certain retail uses."

"We spoke to Matzel and realized he was right," Mayor Jim Phillips said. "The site was zoned for commercial use, but not retail use, and what he said about retail use made sense. He was presenting us with the kind of ratable we like to attract."

The mayor said the site exemplifies "some of the promises we made coming into office to control residential overdevelopment, increase the tax base and bring commercial development to the area."

But Greene said the township should have been more forceful in its negotiations with Matzel.

"He [Phillips] negotiated with the developer. ... Why didn't he say, 'This is what we want.' We should have gotten a clear understanding up front of what he wants to put in there," Greene said.

" 'Certain retail uses' could be anything including big-box stores like Home Depot, Wal-Mart or Wawa. If we aren't careful, the area could end up looking like Route 18 in East Brunswick," an area he described as so "marred" by retail commercialism that people don't want to go there.

Phillips believes Greene is "seeing demons where there are none."

"He is criticizing something he has not yet seen. We have not yet seen what Matzel will propose," the mayor said.

Asked if there were any conceivable retail uses he would object to on that property, the mayor said the township would say no to some.

"Well, if Legends wanted to put in a tattoo parlor or a nuclear waste site, I'm sure the Planning Board or redevelopment agency would, of course, not approve that. Once he makes his proposal, that would be a good time to object," Phillips said.

"Anytime you can eliminate a 450-unit apartment complex, it's a good day, and we've done that here. We've also increased space for commercial and retail, plus the land is already owned by Matzel, so the town increases its tax base without having to spend money. I can't see a downside here," Phillips said.

But if the mayor can't, Greene can. While he concurs that the tax base could be increased, he asked, at what price?

"The whole Crossroads tract should have been preserved as open space," Greene said. "The town spends thousands of dollars to preserve land for open space. Why are we selling off these 500 acres to developers?"

The township purchased some 800 acres in the late 1990s, setting aside the 500-acre Crossroads land for economic development - allowing age-restricted housing on parts, and zoning other sections for offices, warehouses and open space.

Greene said these are no longer the best options for the land in an area of general overdevelopment.

"We once thought the world was flat, but as societies evolve ideas change," Greene said.

One issue the mayor and Greene do agree on is that a hotel would still be a good use of the Legends space.

"There isn't one hotel in Old Bridge," Phillips said, adding that the settlement with Matzel doesn't rule out a future hotel there, it just zones it for commercial use as well.

"A hotel would be great," Greene said, "and a great ratable. So would a clean office complex. But now that we have approved it, we're out of the picture. It will go to the Planning Board. If I were mayor, I'd have been more cautious. Once you approve this kind of project and the kinds of development it could spur, you can't go back."