Redeveloper chosen for Nat'l Lead project O'Neill Properties plans retail, office, homes, arts center BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Sayreville is one step closer to redeveloping the 400-acre former National Lead site. On Monday, the Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment Agency (SERA) unanimously selected O'Neill Properties to be the redeveloper of the waterfront property. SERA's engineer, CME Associates, ranked the proposal from the King of Prussia, Pa.- based builder as the strongest among the three developers vying for the project. The other two developers were Riverbend Metropolitan Corp., of New Jersey, and LCOR Inc., of New York. O'Neill offered SERA $91.5 million for the property as part of its proposal, which calls for more than 2.3 million square feet of lifestyle retail space and over 800,000 square feet of "big box" retail, office buildings, 2,000 age-targeted residential units, a performing arts center and outdoor amphitheater, and a waterfront promenade. Included in the plans is a waterfront retail pavilion and restaurant with sidewalk café seating, and a 48-slip marina. With Riverbend's proposal, SERA commissioners raised concerns about the potential traffic impact on local roads, since that firm's plan called for an indoor water park and a world-class sports complex, along with about 1.7 million square feet of retail space, 2,000 residential units and other uses. LCOR received the lowest score in CME Associates' evaluation of the proposals, notably in terms of the "feasibility of achieving the financial plan" category. The firm had proposed 2 million square feet of retail space, 1.7 million square of office space, hotels, an amphitheater and 2,000 residences. "They had a very good proposal," SERA Engineer David Samuel said. "In the end, they … were not able to eliminate a condition to allow them to write a check by the end of the year." SERA Chairman Raniero Travisano expressed confidence in the proposal from O'Neill Properties. "This is an important step forward," Travisano said. "We had an intense competition between very qualified developers, and the result was a proposal that will provide lasting benefits for Sayreville residents." O'Neill proposed paying SERA for clear title to the section of the National Lead property west of the Garden State Parkway, which includes the most contaminated areas. The developer would pay $42 million in December and another $8 million by the end of March. O'Neill would then purchase the remaining properties for the balance of the total purchase price, according to SERA. O'Neill would be responsible for covering the cost of any additional school facilities that may be required as a result of its development. SERA professionals estimated that the net property tax revenue to the borough, after the cost of all local government services, is $22 million per year. Borough Council President Thomas Pollando, who is running for mayor as a Democrat, announced SERA's decision at Tuesday's mayoral debate, when he faced off against Republican incumbent Kennedy O'Brien. Pollando said the designated redeveloper will fulfill the borough's financial obligation to Middlesex County, which loaned the borough $37 million to condemn the National Lead (NL) site. "The good news is they're going to pay back the loan to the county within the next month and a half," Pollando said. "NL is going to be a fast-track project," Pollando added. O'Brien, who has raised concerns about what he perceives as a lack of public input into the redevelopment process, said at the debate that the proposal to redevelop National Lead went from a mixed-use development with a ballpark to a town center with a large regional mall and big-box retail that will attract excessive traffic. Pollando said that despite the mayor's contentions, the plan has not changed. "It's not a mall," Pollando said. Travisano told Greater Media Newspapers that he had concerns about Riverbend's potential impact on local traffic, but he did not have the same concern with O'Neill's proposal. "What we are doing now is a very important step forward and I think we made the right choice," Travisano said, "because we would have had a lot of traffic with Riverbend. We had to move this thing. We had an intense competition." In a press release that Pollando issued this week, he said this designation is long overdue. "This is a great day for Sayreville," Pollando said. "For too long the most important property in the borough has been dormant, but now we finally have a plan to move forward and a developer who can get the job done." Democratic Councilman Dennis Grobelny, who is a SERA commissioner, said O'Neill's experience with Brownfield redevelopment was an important factor in SERA's decision. "Finally we have a developer who is willing to write a check sufficient to pay back our loan from Middlesex County and who has the brownfield experience to get things done," Grobelny said. "The end result will be millions in property tax relief for our residents." After the agency made its designation Monday, SERA Commissioner Donald Newton directed the redeveloper to get the project going as soon as possible. "We expect you to move forward as quickly and as expeditiously as possible," Newton said. This marks the second time the borough has selected a redeveloper for the National Lead project. In the initial round, it chose LNR Northeastern Investments, but the company withdrew from the project last year after being unable to negotiate a settlement with NL Industries regarding cleanup of contamination on the land.