O.B. seeks asking prices on four parcels
Land along Rt. 516, Rt. 18 being sought for open space
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

Old Bridge officials are working to cover ground in a quest to acquire and preserve four parcels of open space.

Recommended to Mayor Jim Phillips by the Old Bridge Open Space Committee for acquisition, the properties are undeveloped and consist of a total of about 55 acres.

"We're going to try to purchase as much as we can, hopefully with help from the state, and with help from the county," Phillips said.

On July 31, the mayor sent letters to each of the property owners, requesting asking prices for each parcel. He said there is a little more than $3 million in the township's open space account, which makes county and state assistance essential.

The largest of the four properties outlined in a July 18 memo from the Open Space Committee is the 27-acre Cottrell Farm, at Route 516 and Cottrell Road. Phillips has been working to purchase the property and prevent its development since 2005, but has been unable to agree upon a price with the owner, Wall Township-based Jerald Development Group.

Jerald has yet to respond to the township's request for what Phillips is hoping will be a lower number, he said.

After entering into a contract with the Cottrell family, the developer received a general development plan (GDP) approval from the township in 2003, allowing for a large-scale housing and retail development project on the overall 64.5-acre site.

Valid until 2013, the GDP allows for a "town center" development, known as Carriage House Crossing, which calls for a mix of age-restricted town homes, office and retail space, and second-floor apartments. The application is in the process of being heard by the township Planning Board, which will decide if the current plan is in compliance with the GDP and whether to let Jerald build the proposed project with changes that have been made.

Planning Board member Owen Henry told Greater Media Newspapers in March about the major differences between the original application, which he was on the board to hear, and the present one. The newer application includes a three-story parking deck, underground drainage basins, and a reduced number of residential units — 84 age-restricted dwellings and 112 second-floor apartments, in addition to 119,850 square feet of office space.

Phillips has said the project would bring too much density to the intersection, and that the past board's granting of the approval was a mistake.

Last year, the developer surprised township officials by seeking inclusion of the land in the state Farmland Preservation Program. By selling the development rights of a parcel, the owner is able to have it preserved as farmland for posterity through the program. The state denied Jerald's application to the program, however, due to a reportedly too-high price of $900,000 per acre, which a recent reduction in funding for farmland preservation would not allow.

When Jerald offered the property to the township and county to purchase, they also deemed it too high-priced. Though the developer said the $17.5 million asking price was well below the tract's fair market value considering the GDP approval, it was a nogo for Old Bridge and the county.

The farm, long owned by Herbert Cottrell Jr. and dating back to the 1770s, consists of an apple orchard, outbuildings and a farmhouse that dates to 1831, when it was built to replace an earlier structure destroyed by a fire. The land, which was once part of a larger property whose parts were sold for development over time, is included on both the township and county lists of historical sites.

Top priorities

The Open Space Committee identified two parcels along Route 516 as top priorities for acquisition. The first is a 9.2-acre tract adjacent to Mannino Park, and the second consists of 15.6 acres adjacent to the township's Public Works Department.

Consisting of both uplands and wetlands, the property near Mannino Park also touches Jake Brown Road in one area. The owner, Chatham-based Serr Associates, is asking a little over $1 million for it, according to Phillips.

"This is a buildable lot, and the Open Space Committee feels it would serve the town better as open space, especially since it is located next to Mannino Park, than as a commercial office or retail," according to a July 18 memorandum to Phillips from the office of Township Planner Sam Rizzo.

The parcel that abuts the public works site is also adjacent to county-owned property. It is zoned to permit retail and commercial with residences above them. While the tract consists of a large amount of wetlands, it is home to close to four acres of uplands, on which 30,400 square feet of retail and office facilities; or 12 apartments and 15,200 square feet of retail and office space could possibly be built, according to the committee.

Owned by Providence Corp. of Princeton, the land is selling for $2.5 million, Phillips said.

Though not listed among the top two priorities, officials have their sights on a parcel off Route 18 south. The smallest of the properties being sought, the land consists of 3.96 acres. It is contiguous to county open space acreage, and consists largely of wetlands. The property is owned by Mermelstein and Schwartz, G & N, and PNC Bank, according to the township. Phillips said the partners have stated they will consult with one another to determine an asking price.