Board grants preliminary approval to Village plan
New retail center will bring stores to town's south side
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

After months of sometimes contentious wrangling, The Village at Manalapan retail development has received preliminary site plan approval.

On May 25, the Manalapan Planning Board voted 7-2 in favor of preliminary approval following an evening of more discussion and compromise between the applicant and the board.

The Village at Manalapan will be a 500,000-square-foot retail project built on a 135-acre parcel at Route 33 and Millhurst Road. The Village is expected to have several areas, including a community shopping center with a supermarket and related stores, a lifestyle shopping center that has been compared to the Grove retail center in Shrewsbury, and professional office space.

All access will be from Millhurst Road. The state Department of Transportation has declined to permit access from Route 33.

Before the board voted on the application, Mayor Drew Shapiro told his fellow board members, "I'm going to go ahead and be the blunt one ... "You can't vote no on this application anyway. There are no variances.

"If we voted no, it would be overturned in court," he added.

However, Shapiro joined Deputy Mayor Michelle Roth in voting no for preliminary approval when it came time to vote.

Asked why he voted the way he did, Shapiro said that since he was opposed to the project and despite the writing on the wall that it would be approved, he voted no in order to make a "statement."

Applicant Manalapan Retail Realty Partners initially proposed what was referred to as the vision plan for The Village at Manalapan. At more than 800,000 square feet, the vision plan included the community and lifestyle shopping areas that eventually were approved, plus an entertainment complex, a hotel, a tennis complex and a "downtown" retail area with apartments over the stores.

The vision plan was presented as a concept to the Township Committee, but was never presented to the Planning Board as a formal application.

Board member Steve Pine said he was troubled by projections which indicate that traffic flow near The Village will be a Level F rating - the lowest level of service in New Jersey's A to F traffic flow ratings.

"I think Route 33 access is one of the keys to getting this approved. I don't like access only off Millhurst Road," he said.

Pine went on to say he saw a lot of positives about the project, citing the need for retail services on the south side of Manalapan. He said the presence of The Village may reduce the number of people coming to the north side of town to do their shopping.

"In my opinion the positives outweigh the negatives," Pine said.

Planning Board engineer Greg Valesi urged board members "to work for the best open space expansion and an improved layout."

Said Valesi of the preliminary plan that was approved, "There is a plan out there that is a lot better than this one for open space."

Planning Board Chairman Herb Lazar said that while he liked the idea of a downtown village as well as the street design of the project, he, too, had the same concerns regarding the open space component of the project.

"I'm just very troubled by the open space aspect. I thought it can and should have been done better," Lazar said.

Valesi suggested that by rotating the plan's individual lot configurations, Manalapan would be better served by getting "the best open space use you can get." He said by so doing, the possible westward expansion of the project would be greatly minimized.

In noting that the applicant had already amended the application three times at a cost of about $75,000 for each new plan offered, attorney John Giunco, representing the applicant, responded to Valesi's suggestions by saying, "I would represent that my client is willing to do that."

Shapiro said he, too, was concerned about the potential for future expansion of the project.

"My concern is for future project expansion. This has the ability to get much, much larger," he said.

Giunco reiterated that the applicant's vision plan for The Village at Manalapan has been abandoned.