EAST BRUNSWICK–The Township Council approved a resolution to send a revised Tices Lane Redevelopment Plan to the Planning Board for review.
In June 2019, East Brunswick announced the start of the demolition of the old Wonder Bread factory and details about the Tices Lane Redevelopment Plan, located at 110 Tices Lane, as part of its ongoing initiative to redevelop the Route 18 corridor.
The developer for the project is Garden Homes Development, Short Hills, according to Garden Homes Development principal Scott Loventhal.
“The town is going to use the eight acres for a facility that is going to benefit the entire town,” Redevelopment Agency Chairman and Councilman James Wendell said. “Right now we are thinking about an ice rink … and we’ll have some retail residential units, we’ll have some townhouses, we’ll have some apartments, all with smart development and improvements to Tices Lane and improvements to the infrastructure in the area.”
Loventhal estimated the cost of the Tices Lane project at $100 million, which could be a six-year project for the company.
Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Michael Hughes updated the council about the plan during the Feb. 10 council meeting.
“Right now, the demolitions have been halted while they remediate some PCBs that are in the concrete, but that’s still in progress right now,” Hughes said. “We meet regularly, members of the Redevelopment Agency and the 110 Tices team, to review the redevelopment plan and the financial agreement, which we are working on in tandem now that we have a site plan to work off of.”
The council approved a resolution to send requested amendments for the Tices Lane Redevelopment plan to the Planning Board for review.
The agency is requesting that the Tices Lane Redevelopment Plan be amended to reflect the following changes:
- The current ordinance limits the number of apartments to 360. It is recommended that the maximum number of apartments should be 380 to provide some flexibility.
- The current ordinance prohibits three-bedroom market-rate units. It is recommended that up to 50% of the townhomes, which are the Type B and C units, may be three-bedroom, not to exceed 32 units.
- The current ordinance permits 20% maximum building coverage. It is recommended that the coverage should be increased to a maximum of 25%.
- The current ordinance allows a maximum building length of 400 feet. It is recommended that the maximum building length be increased to 450 feet.
“Also as part of that plan, you are going to see some off-site improvements. Part of the redevelopment area we would like to see a widening of Tices Lane,” Hughes said. “We are going to have to do some work and some legwork on our end to make that happen and to move forward so traffic can flow a little bit easier. We are committed to making that happen. You are also going to see a new traffic light be installed there as part of their plan.”
For more information, visit www.ebtv.org/programs/township-council-meetings.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
