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State of the Township address stresses moving forward with downtown expansion

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BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE — Significant downtown investments and positive relationships with the business community top Mayor John E. McCormac’s State of the Township address.

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“The ‘state of our township’ depends on the ‘state-of-our-business community,’ and ours is growing larger and getting better every single day,” he said.

McCormac addressed the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce in his 10th State of the Township address on Jan. 26.

The mayor noted that a few months ago, Standard & Poors Rating Agency upped the township’s bond rating to AA+ with a positive outlook, the highest rating the township has ever received.

“Their report to us mentioned our terrific demographics and our strong surpluses and appropriate use of debt financing,” he said.

Last year, the township issued nearly 5,000 building permits for the third year in a row and saw $142 million in new construction.

The most significant investment that the township will undertake will be on Main Street in the downtown Woodbridge business district.

“We have an asset there that many towns only dream of having — our Woodbridge Train Station,” he said. “Riders are 20 minutes from Newark Airport and 30 minutes from New York City or Jersey Shore towns. A switch to a PATH train or to the main line can have someone in Philadelphia or Jersey City within an hour. More and more people are commuting by mass transit and less and less by automobile.”

And, as urban job opportunities increase, McCormac said the demand for transit village development has never been higher.

“Quite simply, we have to keep Woodbridge moving forward or our downtown will wither away and die as other towns attract residents that should be ours,” he said. “We need to attract many, many more people with higher incomes who want to live within walking distance of a train station. And in Woodbridge there are many opportunities.”

McCormac said the township is in the final stages of a downtown Master Plan which will redefine Main Street.

“Redevelopment zones will be created and private developers will be encouraged to evaluate each of these zones to present us with ideas as to how our downtown can be enhanced,” he said. “Even before that plan takes shape though, things are happening.”

The mayor said Joe and Dominic Fetic, the owners of Il Castello’s on Main Street, just built a 16-unit luxury apartment complex.

“They have more plans for several dozen more units just behind those,” he said.

McCormac said the owners of Rug’s & Riffy’s Bar and Grill along Rahway Avenue have joined with a redeveloper and they plan to tear down their restaurant, five houses next to it, and the commercial building across the side street, for a luxury apartment complex that will attract upper income people to Woodbridge.

“This will attract people who can literally walk out of their apartment and take a few steps and be on the platform to go to work or out for entertainment,” he said. “Street level retail will accommodate any business temporarily displaced.”

Hess, after selling their Woodbridge office building, refinery and gas stations, is in the final stage of selling the remaining 40 acres, and the prospective owners want to make a significant investment in housing, restaurants, and retail space at the intersection of upper Main Street and Route 9.

“This is an easy commute to the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike and a short ride by shuttle to the train station and downtown businesses,” he said.

The prospective owners, McCormac said, have already agreed on traffic improvements in the area including the improvement of the ramp off of Route 9 south onto Main Street to bring it across their property to connect it with Main Street where the entrance is to Lowe’s Hardware.

“A new traffic light there will replace the one by the bowling alley, and will greatly ease the traffic jams downtown that currently mean a 15 minute ride to go less than a mile from Town Hall to the Community Center,” he said. “We are working with Middlesex County to continue to improve traffic flow by taking trucks off of Main Street except for local deliveries.”

McCormac said these significant investments will be predominantly targeted to single people and young couples without children; however, township officials have acknowledged there will be some children.

Township and school officials are in discussions on considering taking the three oldest school buildings — Ross Street Elementary School No. 1, Woodbridge Middle School and the school administration building — out of service in anticipation of the development of transit-oriented luxury apartments in the downtown area.

In place, new school facilities may be built to accommodate the potential increase of children due to the development.

McCormac said in order to make sure the township maximizes the amount of state aid they can get from Trenton, the Board of Education will likely need to go to the voters later this year for a referendum to allow the township to move ahead with the downtown vision, which he stressed will not add any new taxes, but raise property values and bring in more jobs.

In the downtown development plans is also a proposed downtown parking deck that can accommodate everyone.

The Avenel Arts Village redevelopment project on the former General Dynamics Site is under way.

“The arts concept is fast becoming a reality,” said McCormac. “Alan Schall of Atlantic Realty has embraced the concept and has joined us on tours of studios all over the area to determine the best way to construct a state of the art facility.”

Steve Dillon of Dillon Music has already entered into negotiations to be the anchor tenant at the Village.

“Steve attracts musicians from literally all over the world to his shop,” he said.

And, with Leslie Godfrey of the Professional Music Academy joining him, McCormac said all other retail will likely be left to the local business community, which will greatly benefit all the businesses on Avenel Street and Rahway Avenue.

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