By Chris Rotolo
HOLMDEL – A unanimous May 3 planning board decision approved a contentious affordable housing development near the Laurel Avenue border of Hazlet.
Holmdel Family Apartments, a proposed three-story construction with 91 parking spaces on 3.87 acres of vacant land, was ratified after nearly 18 months of litigation and negotiation between the neighboring municipalities.
The year-and-a-half holding pattern was due in large part to three separate lawsuits filed by Hazlet Township against Holmdel, hindering Barnegat-based development firm the Walters Group from breaking ground on the proposed 50-unit, completely affordable, rental housing project at 625 South Laurel Ave., near the corner of Middle Road.
“We spent the first half of 2021 litigating those cases and ultimately we were able to reach a settlement agreement with Hazlet Township,” Damien O. Del Duca of the Haddonfield law firm Del Duca Lewis said during the May 3 meeting of the Holmdel Planning Board.
During a July 2020 meeting of the Holmdel governing body, Hazlet officials questioned the suitability of the Laurel Avenue site for a project of this density, contending that a slim stretch of land, mere feet, was not an adequate barrier to separate the development from homes situated on Marsand Drive.
“We’re not saying don’t build on this site. We’re not saying do not put affordable housing on this site. We’re saying build what fits,” Hazlet Township attorney James Gorman said.
Holmdel agreed to adopt an ordinance modifying the initial site plan to address lighting concerns, as well as the preservation of naturally occurring vegetation that separated the parcel from existing residential properties in Hazlet.
“Holmdel essentially agreed to move the parking lots and building further away from the Hazlet residents who abut the property, to create more space,” Del Duca added. Once the project is completed there will be 100 feet of distance separating the homes from the apartments. Additionally, stormwater management improvements would fall under the purview of Hazlet.
The 50-unit development is part of a plan to help Holmdel satisfy its state-mandated affordable housing obligation of approximately 297 units and was included in a January 2019 settlement with the nonprofit advocacy group Fair Share Housing Center.
The project is composed entirely of affordable dwellings that are identified as “family units,” meaning they are not age restricted.
Walters Group vice president of land development, Edmund Speitel Jr., said the property will not only be developed by the firm, but managed by them as well.
“We’re a one-stop shop for our communities and we have approximately two dozen communities like this one, two-thirds of which are located in the Ocean and Monmouth county area,” Speitel said. “We handle all the construction in-house and then we have a substantial management team to oversee the property.”
Speitel said the Walters Group is responsible for qualifying tenants, leasing the units and reporting compliance information to the township. The organization will also employ a property manager to be on site during business hours and ensure maintenance staff is available for 24-hour support to residents.
The South Laurel Avenue development was one of three township properties designated for new affordable housing construction projects in the 2019 settlement agreement. Additional sites include a mixed-use building along Route 35 near North Beers Street, with 40,000 square feet of street level retail space and 139 units above, 31 of which would be affordable. An additional 12 affordable units are proposed for a Palmer Avenue apartment building with a maximum of 48 rental units.
This article originally appeared in the May 5-11, 2022, print edition of The Two River Times.
