By Sunayana Prabhu
MIDDLETOWN – The redevelopment study undertaken by the township to transform the Route 36 corridor in Middletown is making steady progress. After a public presentation in March on the process, Stan Slachetka, principal planner with T&M Associates, returned with a PowerPoint presentation for the first in a series of three special planning board meetings to review properties that qualify as areas in need of redevelopment.
Designating a property as such allows the township to retain control of how it is ultimately utilized and closes the door on builder’s remedy lawsuits which can take development out of the planning board’s hands.
The 5-mile corridor of Route 36 that falls within the township has been divided into three sections for the study: A, B and C. Each meeting will focus on one section.
Slachetka said the study is for “non-condemnation redevelopment,” which means no property would be acquired through eminent domain.
The study area includes a total of 506 properties spanning nearly 321 acres. “For the most part the properties that front on Route 36 are in nonresidential zoned areas,” said Slachetka. Section A covers the westernmost part of the area being studied, beginning at Palmer Avenue and ending at Main Street in Port Monmouth. Section B falls between Main Street in Port Monmouth and 12th Street in Belford; Section C, the easternmost section of the corridor, runs from Broadway Avenue to Chamone Avenue in the Leonardo section of the township.
Middletown Township officials have been mulling over the transformation of residential and commercial properties – several of which are underutilized and vacant – along this stretch of roadway since December 2016.
According to Slachetka’s findings, Section A has 27 parcels in need of redevelopment. Some of these properties are in common ownership (owned by an organization or community) like lots belonging to the Keansburg Board of Education. The parcels also include several businesses that have moved, such as Middletown Trailer and Crustini, a restaurant that has been vacant for at least two years.
“Probably the most significant site in the study area is Port Monmouth Elementary School,” said Slachetka, detailing the deteriorated conditions of the school that was closed by the Middletown Board of Education in 2020. The building has water damage, exposed and unsecured wiring, a weakened floor and concrete steps, areas of damaged ceiling tiles, chipping paint and more.
Collectively these conditions led to the conclusion that, in its current condition, the building represents an “unwholesome working environment” and meets the criteria for redevelopment.
“If your property is not part of this list, it’s not being proposed for designation as an area in need of redevelopment,” Slachetka told those in attendance.
The township’s governing body adopted two resolutions, one in June 2019 and the second one in October 2022, directing the planning board to undertake a primary investigation as to whether the Route 36 corridor needs redevelopment. All the properties in the study area are listed in the redevelopment designation study report and can be viewed on the township’s website.
The redevelopment report presentations are also available on the township’s website. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the remaining two meetings which are scheduled for Thursday, July 27 and Thursday, Aug. 3.
The article originally appeared in the July 27 – August 2, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
