Tuesday, May 7, 2013
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. "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. 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 …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Township's immediate focus for Route 9 South eyesore is code compliance, mayor says
Thanks, but no thanks. The redeveloper of record for the dilapidated Beachwood Shopping Center on Route 9 South has walked away from the project, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said. Township Council President James J. Byrnes was informed by Donato Donofrio that he was no longer interested in redeveloping the site because of the poor economy, Amato said. "I asked him if he's still interested, he said they are done," Byrnes said. "With the economy and the amount of money they would need to invest..." The news was a blow to ratable-poor Berkeley and its massive redevelopment plan. The long-vacant, battered shopping center was ground zero in the redevelopment plan. It's been an eyesore on Route 9 South for many years. "It's unfortunate," Amato …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
No news since State Planning Commission approved township's plan in July
Berkeley officials rejoiced in July when the State Planning Commission gave its long-sought okay to the township's massive redevelopment plan. The plan approval meant that Donato Donofrio - the redeveloper of record - was free to iron out a cleanup agreement with the owner of the dilapidated Beachwood Shopping Center and get started on the redevelopment. But nothing has happened since then. Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said after tonight's Township Council meeting he plans to call Donofrio to see if he still wants to proceed. Estimates to clean up the asphalt plant behind the defunct shopping center, remove asbestos from the buildings and raze the site have ranged as high as $50 million, Amato said. "Removal will be costly," he said. The …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
State Office of Public Advocacy to team up with other state agencies to help move Beachwood Shopping Center project forward
Can the battered Beachwood Shopping Center be bulldozed into oblivion soon, now that the state Planning Commission has approved Berkeley's redevelopment plan? Not so fast. Some things have to take place first, before that can happen, Township Planner James R. Oris said after last night's Township Council meeting. For starters, developer Donato Donofrio and the Johnson family - which has owned the property for decades - have to agree on a price not just for the shopping center, but cleanup costs for the defunct asphalt plan behind it. "Plan endorsement coms only after a very long effort, by the township and the state planning staff," Oris said. State Planning Commission members unanimously approved approved Berkeley's long-awaited, …
Friday, July 6, 2012
Years-long quest to redevelop the Beachwood Shopping Center site finally succeeds
The Beachwood Shopping Center - long a blight on Route 9 South - may soon be a thing of the past. State Planning Commission members today voted unanimously to approve the first portion of the township's Town Center redevelopment plan. The vote paves the way for the demolition and eventual redevelopment of the dilapidated, decaying shopping center that more than one mayor has dubbed an embarrassment. "We have been approved!" a jubilant Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said late this afternoon. Amato, Township Council President James J. Byrnes and Township Councilman John Bacchione traveled to Trenton today to read their comments on the plan into the record. "Through plan endorsement, Berkeley Township will be able to redevelop stagnant and …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
New hearing slated for July, mayor says
Just when township officials thought they were at the finish line, the state Planning Commission again postponed a vote on the long-awaited Town Center plan. The public hearing for Phase 1 of the massive plan along the Route 9 corridor was slated for today in Trenton. Approval of the plan would have brought Berkeley closer to the redevelopment of the decaying Beachwood Shopping Center. But Planning Commission officials informed Amato that no action would be taken until the state budget was approved, the mayor said. "I understand," Amato said. "The state has to have a balanced budget by the end of the month. Obviously it's a priority." But Amato says the township already passed its "biggest hurdle" when the state Planning Implementation …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Township moves closer to state Planning Commission approval for Town Center redevelopment plan; hearing slated for May 16 in Trenton
Mayor Carmen F. Amato stood in the sunlight on the cracked pavement of the Beachwood Shopping Center yesterday and shook his head. The "gateway" to Berkeley Township on Route 9 South has been an embarrassment to more than one township administration and an eyesore to passing motorists. It still is. "The beginning of our town is right there," Amato said and pointed to the site entrance on the highway. "Our welcome sign is right there," he said, pointing the sign just past the easternmost portion of the shopping center. The L-shaped mall - once home to a Woolworth's, supermarket, bowling alley, Jersey Mike's and a slew of other stores - has sat unused and slowly deteriorating for almost a decade. Sections of roofs are starting to cave in …
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Berkeley Board of Ed Vice President Running on GOP ticket for Township Council seat
John Bacchione says his financial knowledge as a loan officer will help bring much-needed business ratables to Berkeley Township. He points to towns in Southern Ocean County that have already attracted pieces and he sees no reason why Berkeley can't do the same. "I see the need for growth as I pass through Manahawkin, Lacey Township and Toms River," said Bacchione, who is a mortgage broker with GMAC. "I see all the commercial ratables. I say why not Berkeley? I think I can be of some help in getting them." "When people come to Berkeley Township just to go to Dairy Queen, I think you have a problem," he added. Bacchione, 53, Albatross Point, is running on the GOP ticket with Thomas Grosse and Robert Ray for the three at-large Township …
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Anthony R. Mazzella touts his experience as Planning Board chairman for past nine years
The state's eventual endorsement of Berkeley's Town Center and complex redevelopment plan will benefit residents in the future, said Anthony R. Mazzella, 61, a Democratic candidate for one of the three at-large seats on the Township Council. “The issues always center around taxes,’’ said Mazzella, who has lived in Berkeley since 1999. “The redevelopment of the Beachwood Plaza will help bring in commercial rateables and not burden the township taxpayers with increased costs. A great deal has been done on this project and I think many residents don’t realize it or understand it.’’ Mazzella, Bayview Avenue, has served on the township Planning Board since 2001 and has been board chairman since 2002. He has been deeply involved in the Town …
nicnac
9:40 am on Thursday, May 9, 2013
I agree with some of the above. Definitely no big box stores. They ruin the area. Make it look like a main street, I think it's called a lifestyle center or something. They can make it look pretty with landscaping, fountains, have live music in the summer on the weekends. I was hopeful after that fire, that the whole thing burned to the ground. What are Central Regional's big plans? Sorry for the… more ›