Politics & Government

Glimmer Of Hope: Two Redevelopers Interested In Beachwood Shopping Center

Lennar Corporation and M&M Realty want to take a closer look at Route 9 South eyesore at entrance to Berkeley Township

 

Just how contaminated is the Beachwood Shopping Center site and what would it cost to clean it up and redevelop the longtime eyesore?

No one really knows the answers yet. But a representative of Lennar Corporation said the company wants to partner with M&M Realty to find out.

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"The township is in the process of looking to name a new redeveloper," Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said at the May 6 Township Council meeting.

Amato said he wants council members to meet within the next several days to decide whether to name the two firms the redevelopers of record for the dilapidated site.

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Once they are named, the companies can begin environmental studies to determine how much it would cost to remediate the site.

"They will be able to make a determination whether it's economically feasible for them," the mayor said.

The decaying Beachwood Shopping Center is the first thing visitors see when they cross the border from Beachwood into Bayville, Amato said.

"I do not want its reputation to be based on this," Amato said. "Hopefully by the summer we can expect to see these buildings demolished. We are moving as quickly as possible."


Amato, Township Council President James J. Byrnes and Township Administrator Christopher Reid went to Trenton recently to meet with state Department of Environmental Protection officials to discuss the redevelopment plan.

"I think the state was very favorable towards this opportunity," Byrnes said. "After Sandy, this is kind of like a rebirth in Berkeley."

Richard Fernicola, vice president of development for Lennar, said both companies could offer Berkeley extensive backgrounds in redevelopment and environmental cleanups.

"We do environmental cleanups like this," he said during a brief Powerpoint presentation.

But the two companies cannot proceed with any further investigation of the site without being named redevelopers of record, Fernicola said.

"The state did say this is a textbook example of a redevelopment area," Township Administrator Christopher Reid said. "The state would really like to move forward. We have redevelopers willing to spend money out of their own pockets. It's extremely positive. We need someone to come in there right away and do the due diligence for the cleanup."

Come back to Berkeley Patch later today for the complete story.


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