Route 22 office building recommended for redevelopment

BRIDGEWATER – The Township Council will decide whether an unfinished Route 22 office campus will be designated as area in need of redevelopment.

The 27.89-acre area, comprised of five lots on eastbound Route 22 between Woodside Lane and Adamsville Road, is the subject of a Superior Court lawsuit brought by its owner, 1200 Route 22 Land Investors, against the township, challenging the zoning ordinance that prohibits warehouse development .

1200 Route 22 Land Investors acquired the site in 2022 for $27 million. At the time of the acquisition, warehouses were a permitted use in the zone.

The property owner wants to build a 179,973-square-foot warehouse behind the existing 112,000-square-foot medical building.

Mayor Matthew Moench said at the Aug. 15 Township Council meeting that asking the Planning Board to undertake the redevelopment investigation is part of "our efforts to fight overdevelopment" and "protect our quality of life."

The mayor said that the lengthy redevelopment process will "take a look at alternate uses which will be preferable" to warehouses.

A pre-trial conference in that lawsuit is scheduled for Nov. 6 before Judge William Mennen.

The Planning Board on Oct 15 voted to recommend the redevelopment designation to the Township Council, one of the first steps in the redevelopment process.

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The Planning Board voted after reviewing a 100-page report by Michael Sullivan, the township redevelopment planner.

Sullivan found the site met the criteria under state law for redevelopment – the stormwater management system is obsolete and the plans to fully develop the site were never completed.

Development of the site has a long history dating to 1981 when the township, at the height of the suburban office building boom, approved three, three-story office buildings on the site. One of those buildings was completed in 1987, but it is the only building that was ever constructed.

In 2005, the township denied a proposal to build two four-story hotels, a Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites, on the site.

Nine years later, another developer proposed two three-story hotels, a Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn, and that too was denied.

Potential development remained dormant until 2023 when 1200 Route 22 Land Investors proposed a 179,973-square-foot warehouse. A hearing on that proposal has been tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10 before the township Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Sullivan found that the stormwater management system installed around 2003 does not meet the "stricter" state Department of Environmental Protection regulations that went into effect in 2023.

The drainage was a major concern of nearby residents who opposed both hotel plans, saying the property was contributing to runoff to Cuckels Brook and leading to downstream flooding.

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Sullivan concluded that runoff from the completed parking lot and a partially completed parking lot is not being treated and the polluted water is being carried off site and downstream.

Sullivan also determined that if all three buildings and other improvements had been made, the assessed property value would be about $31 million. Instead, the site is only assessed at $15.2 million.

"Bridgewater is presumably missing out on, roughly, two thirds of the potential property tax revenue," Sullivan wrote. "It would be in Bridgewater's best interest to redevelop this obsolescent and dilapidated site and bring it up to speed in terms of tax revenue to support municipal services and infrastructure."

Though the office building on the site would alone not qualify for redevelopment status, it was included "for the effective redevelopment" of the entire area.

It's the third site in recent months that the township Planning Board has recommended for a redevelopment designation. The other two are the municipal yard waste recycling site on Foothill Road by the Bridgewater Promenade and the former Ethicon property on Route 22 and Country Club Road.

If the Township Council designates the Route 22 property as a redevelopment area, the township will then create a redevelopment plan. Then a developer will be sought for a project that meets the requirement of that redevelopment plan.

At that point, the redeveloper will submit a site plan for Planning Board approval and the Township Council will draft an agreement with the redeveloper.

Public input will be allowed at every step in the redevelopment process.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Route 22 office building recommended for redevelopment