By Wilson Conde
MIDDLETOWN – The Starbucks coffee chain is looking to build a second Middletown location on Route 35, near Tindall Road.
The new store, if built, will be a drive-through facility, according to an application filed with the township last summer. Starbucks has a current location at the intersection of Route 35 and Cherry Tree Farm Road.
The proposed site, owned by Judy Walling of Middletown, is home to Middletown Garden Center, Liberty Travel, a florist, a Dunkin Donuts, and a BP Gas Station. The lot sits in the center of Route 35 on an island between the north and southbound lanes.
A development permit application was filed in July, on Starbucks’ behalf, by Frontier Development LLC, a Florida-based commercial development firm, via Red Bank attorney Martin A. McGann, Jr. Also on file are site plan maps prepared in June by Bohler Engineering, an application response by the Middletown Planning Board filed in August, and review letters from T&M Associates and the Planning Board in September.
According to the application, Starbucks proposes an approximately 1,850 square foot store, with an additional estimated 516 square feet to be reserved for another retail store.
In an August response, the Planning Board directed that the building must be set back at least 50 feet from the highway on all sides; and the facility must also decrease lot coverage from 74 to 70 percent, reduce its freestanding sign’s height from 30 to 10 feet, and set back that sign at least 10 feet from the highway.
A Sept. 30 letter from the Planning Board recommended additional landscaping and a more pedestrian-friendly parking area.
In addition, a review letter from T&M disputed Frontier’s traffic studies.
Starbucks’ plan awaits approval from several county and state agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Monmouth County Planning Board, and the Freehold Soil Conservation District, among others, according to the filings. Middletown’s Planning Board originally scheduled a hearing for the application for Oct. 7, but has re-scheduled it several times, and no date is set for a future hearing
McGann’s office declined to be interviewed on the project, saying it generally does not discuss or disclose any information on its clients with others.
Walling referred requests for comment to her realtor, Stephen Massell, who also serves on the Middletown Township Committee.
Massell declined to comment on any project specifics pending its final outcome, but said that as a realtor, he generally supports the idea new business development, as that provides a boost to the local economy.
“Any business that comes into town is a positive thing,” he said.
Massell added that although he’s not a traffic expert, he believes that any potential traffic safety issues from the facility would not be very different from the issues that already exist in the area.
“I would guess that it would be similar to the Dunkin Donuts and BP gas station we have now,” he said.
