Builder offers to sell farm for $17.5 million Mayor says O.B., county will negotiate Cottrell Farm price BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer Old Bridge officials may soon buy the farm. The developer that owns the 64.5-acre Cottrell Farm has offered to sell it to the township or county for $17.5 million. "My feeling is that the price is still too high," said Mayor Jim Phillips, who has expressed a desire to preserve the Cottrell homestead and orchard at Route 516 and Cottrell Road, across the street from the municipal complex. "I think that the destruction of the Cottrell Farm would be a real shame. I'm committed to preserving it." Jerald Development Group, of Wall Township, is the current owner of the circa 18th-century farm. In 2003, Old Bridge granted the builder general development plan (GDP) approval for a largescale housing and retail development on the property. Jerry Cernero, owner of Jerald Development, announced earlier this year that he would attempt to have the farm preserved through the state Farmland Preservation Program, but his attempt proved unsuccessful. The Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board informed the company in August that its asking price was too high, particularly in light of recent changes to the state program. Now, the builder wants to see if the township, county, or a partnership of the two, want to buy the farm using open space funds. In a Sept. 21 letter to Phillips, Jerald attorney Jonathan Heilbrunn wrote that his client considers the $17.5 million asking price to be well below the tract's fair market value. Appraisals obtained by the developer placed the farm's value at over $21 million, according to Heilbrunn. The appraisals take the proposed development of the approved GDP into account. The GDP, valid until 2013, allows for a "town center" development known as both the Crossings at Old Bridge and Carriage House Crossing. It was to include 82 active adult townhouses and 128 marketrate condominiums, along with 119,000 square feet of retail space. When it became clear that the farm was unlikely to be preserved through the state program, Cernero said he would seek preliminary site plan approval from the township Planning Board for a slightly altered plan. The developer is slated to go before the Planning Board Oct. 30, and requested that the township render a decision on the offer before that time. "We know, in this day and age, that his plan won't be approved at [the original] numbers," Phillips said. "We don't want to see anything built there." Phillips pointed out that the GDP approval was granted before he became mayor. "The Republicans were the ones who approved it for development," Township Council President Pat Gillespie said. Both Phillips and Gillespie said the township will seek funding from the county and state to purchase the farm, but only after negotiating a lower price. Phillips said he will meet with representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Green Acres program and the county open-space program this week to look at monies available through grants and loans. The township also has open-space funds to contribute to the purchase, Phillips said. "Obviously, to the extent that we qualify for those funding programs, [it] reduces the burden on the taxpayer," Gillespie said. Phillips said township officials will prepare a counterproposal after the land is appraised, while taking into account a lower amount of development on the tract. Due to a downturn in the building market, Phillips said he is confident about the town's ability to negotiate and purchase the farm for preservation. "I would like to be able to take advantage of this downturn in acquiring this property," Phillips said. "I think it's only a matter of negotiation." Obadiah Herbert originally owned the farm in the 18th century, and whose wife, Elizabeth Warne, was a descendant of Thomas Warne, a proprietor of East Jersey whose children owned a large amount of land along what is now Route 516 near Browntown. The property later passed to Obadiah's son, William Herbert, whose daughter Hannah would marry Garret Cottrell. In the 1800s, the farm consisted of 300 acres, but portions were sold off during the 1900s. The Cottrell family, which until 1955 operated the nearby New Jersey Apple Growers distillery, has held onto the farm buildings and 20 acres of land, which includes an apple orchard. In recent years, Herbert Cottrell Jr. has continued to reside on the farm after entering into a contract with the developer. The two-story house on the site dates to 1831, having replaced an earlier structure that was destroyed by fire. Anna Aschkenes, executive director of the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, has said the farm is unique because both the homestead and outbuildings have survived over time, something that is not often found in preservation. Aschkenes recommended that the township and county seek to preserve the farm in 2005. The land is included on both the township and county lists of historical sites.