The former Foodtown site off Route 70 in Brick. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Brick officials this week voted to extend agreements with the two developers selected to build on the former Foodtown lot off Route 70 as the regulatory process moves forward.
The developers, M&M Realty Partners and HFZ Brick, will each own portions of the site after they successfully purchase the land after approvals are met. Brick extended its agreements with the two companies since the regulatory process with the state is moving forward and both parties are actively pursuing the projects.
Mayor John Ducey said the proposal for the site – a sports dome complex owned by HMZ and retail and restaurant space owned by M&M – has been cleared by the state Department of Transportation, a hurdle for any project near a major highway. At this point, negotiations on the eventual ownership of the site between the two parties are continuing.
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“We’re getting through the negotiation process, and we’re getting nearer to the point where we have a site plan,” said Ducey.
Purchased in 2003 to avoid the placement of a Home Depot there, the site has been one of the most polarizing issues in Brick for years, with inaction outlasting three mayors before Ducey canceled an existing agreement with M&M. In litigation that followed, a settlement kept M&M in the picture and brought in HFZ.
The property will now be split in two – one lot fronting Route 70 and one behind it – at a cost of $2.5 million each, for a total of $5 million.
