By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – The township planning board declared the former Nokia facility on Crawford Hill abutting the historic Holmdel Horn Antenna property as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment in a 5-1 vote at its Sept. 5 meeting.
The planning board’s recommendation allows the township to condemn Lot 7, if it chooses, and acquire it through eminent domain. The two other lots (6 and 6.01) associated with the property were previously declared condemnation areas in need of redevelopment. In Aug. 22, the township authorized acquisition of those lots by eminent domain.
All three lots at 791 Holmdel Road are owned by Rakesh Antala through Crawford Hill Holdings LLC.
The township has clearly stated that it intends to use the Crawford Hill property – nearly 43 acres – for open space, recreation and historic preservation without moving the Horn from its current location. The Holmdel Horn Antenna is a National Historic Landmark and was used by scientists to prove the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe.
The township is currently in good-faith negotiations with Antala – who believes the property is worth $6 million – to purchase the lots. Having the planning board declare the sites condemnation areas in need of redevelopment allows the township to use eminent domain if those negotiations fail.
Antala attended Tuesday’s heated, three-hour-long meeting with a team of professionals – attorney Joseph Grather, architect Andrew Trocchia, and Peter Steck, a professional planner – to contest the board’s decision.
In a statement emailed to The Two River Times Wednesday, Antala said, “It is clear from last night’s planning board meeting… that the township is rushing to judgment without considering all the facts.” Antala did not speak at the meeting.
However, Steck argued that there is no debate that the township has “the absolute right to condemn Lots 6 and 6.01 because it is for a public purpose for parkland.” But he was skeptical about the intentions for Lot 7, claiming the township could bring in another developer for that site.
“If the township wanted to acquire Lot 7 for parkland, we wouldn’t be here,” said Steck.
The Nokia site includes a two-story laboratory research and office building constructed in 1962 to serve as an annex to Bell Laboratories. The site also includes the main parking area, certain circulation driveways, and the stormwater management basin.
In 2020, Nokia sold the vacant property to Antala for $3.7 million, according to tax records. Kate Keller is the township’s planner hired to undertake the redevelopment investigation study for the Nokia site.
According to Keller, the site qualifies as a “condemnation area in need of redevelopment” as it meets certain criteria defined under the state’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. She listed various conditions on the property that are “really detrimental” to the health, safety and welfare of the public.
Keller said the research laboratory has been in a state of “disrepair,” “overall decline,” “vacant for over two years” and “underutilized.”
“The obsolescence of the building,” Keller said, “and the lack of tenancy resulted in a pattern of crime and deterioration on the site. She said “nuisance crimes,” like trespassing and vandalism, were prevalent.
Keller concluded that designating the property as a “condemnation area in need of redevelopment would serve a public purpose by returning the property to productive use.”
Both Steck and Trocchia argued that their evaluation of the Nokia site reached a different conclusion from Keller’s.
There is nothing to signify the building has any structural problems, Steck said.
Keller cited graffiti on the building to prove the structure was blighted. “I can give you cans of spray paint and you can go around and blight anything that you’ve seen,” argued Steck. “That’s not a threat, in my opinion, to public health, safety and welfare.”
Steck also pointed out that, “despite the restrictive zoning,” two entities are interested in using the Nokia property, a television company and a small dental products company. The property holds value in the market, according to Steck, and he argued that Antala must be compensated with a fair market price.
Steck argued that Antala pays the property taxes, “there are no outstanding violations, no health code violations. The building is sound, is secured. What’s the detriment?” he asked.
Since December 2022, several residents and grassroots environmental organizations have advocated for preserving all three lots as a park with public access.
“We don’t need to go for redevelopment or development. We need reuse,” Holmdel resident Ralph Blumenthal told the planning board during public comments. “We do not need more developers of any sort and especially in that location.”
Keller reminded the board that voting to recommend the designation does not mean the building can’t be reused.
The only dissenting vote came from board member Ron Emma. “I don’t think this is an area in need of redevelopment,” Emma said. He thought the condemnation would be against Holmdel’s 2004 Master Plan goals to “protect the visual quality and scenic quarters throughout Holmdel, particularly vistas of open space natural features, farmland and, again, historic sites.”
The article originally appeared in the September 7 – 13, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
