By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
ABERDEEN — After sitting vacant for the last two decades, the former Anchor Glass Factory on Cliffwood Avenue will soon be demolished to pave way for a new mixed-use community.
A partnership between Holmdel-based master developer Somerset Development, Collingswood-based residential developer Ingerman, township officials and many others, will see the long-vacant manufacturing plant transformed into The Glassworks — a vibrant, accessible “Main Street” encompassing new residential units, retail, entertainment, recreation and more.
“When Anchor Glass closed down, it took away a slice of the community,” Ralph Zucker, president of Somerset Development, said at an April 5 event.
“This plant has been closed for over 20 years and … is an eyesore.
“You sort of have this tear in the fabric in the seam of the community, and we look at this almost as urban repair.”
According to Zucker, the demolition of the abandoned factory will make way for more than 500 for-sale and rental townhouses and apartments, including 110 designated affordable housing units.
Plans for the 51-acre site also include a 110-room boutique hotel, designated open space, including a two-acre public recreation area to be called Glassworks Park, 75,000 square feet of retail space and a movie theater.
“More important than anything is the way the community is developed,” Zucker said. “As it goes up we won’t have shops in one spot and rentals in another and townhomes in another, it is all blended together [and] the way the community has been developed it’s really a walkable, traditional neighborhood … celebrating what’s here.”
The Glassworks project is estimated to cost more than $200 million and is expected to be complete within the next few years.
“This road has been a long journey and after years of planning and intense negotiations, this factory is finally being demolished to make way for a beautiful new mixed-use community,” Aberdeen Township Mayor Fred Tagliarini said.
“Glassworks will give Aberdeen a charming ‘Main Street’ community and make this dormant property an economic, beneficial asset for our town and Monmouth County.
“We are so proud that this project will create hundreds of jobs here in Monmouth County, provide affordable housing and will grow small businesses here in Aberdeen.”
Brad Ingerman, founder and CEO of Ingerman, said The Glassworks’ 110 designated affordable housing units will be created with more than $9 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds through the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing (FRM) program.
The program provides housing developers opportunities to secure zero-interest and low-interest loans to finance the development of affordable housing in the nine counties most impacted by superstorm Sandy, and during the first 90 days of lease-up, priority for residency will be given to Sandy-impacted individuals.
“The neat thing about the project is we’re not creating little pockets of isolation,” he said. “When you drive onto the main boulevard you will see both market apartments and affordable apartments interspersed amongst each other, and you will not see any differentiation between somebody who might be paying $2,300 for a two-bedroom apartment and somebody who might be paying $1,000 for an affordable two-bedroom apartment, and I think that is what this is all about.
“It’s great that people from [different incomes] basically have the same opportunities.”
Anthony Marchetta, executive director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency agreed.
“It takes a long time to take a project of this complexity and bring it to fruition, and we’re really at the beginning of the end,” he said. “Glassworks is really a wonderful example of what we really try to accomplish.
“Mixed-income, mixed-use is really the way to go [and] integrating it into one fabric of the community is the correct way, and we’re accomplishing that today.”
While much still needs to be done, officials are excited and looking forward to the ribbon-cutting ceremony and welcoming The Glassworks’ first residents.
“We wish that the original mission of this place still was happening, that we would have a busy hive of workers here producing glass for this area, for the region, for the country, for the world, but things change and this 24/7 buzz that used to happen here is no longer and that’s a shame,” said Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth).
“Be that as it may, we have this big, old dilapidated factory … and we’re going to have great new housing opportunities for people and places for recreation.”
Zucker said the project represents Somerset Development’s mission to repurpose environmentally problematic sites and transform them into regional destinations.
“What you see [is] a plant that has had its heyday, has outlived its usefulness … [and] this has been an effort, it is not easy to do anywhere, and the fact that we are standing here celebrating what is going to be the next step in revitalizing and taking Anchor Glass and turning it into Glassworks is a testament to so many people.”
Echoing the words of late President Ronald Regan, Tagliarini said, “Mr. Zucker, tear down this factory.”
