The former Brick Foodtown site on Route 70, Oct. 2018. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Brick is a few steps closer to being able to finalize the sale of the former Foodtown plot on Route 70 to two developers who will build an indoor sports complex and retail plaza on the site.
Though the ‘Superdome’ sports complex has already been approved by the Brick planning board, several state and county administrative hurdles have been discovered – with officials fearing the wheels of government will move too slowly for rapid redevelopment at the site.
On Tuesday night, the township council unanimously approved the execution of a deed that maps out all of the wetland areas of the 10.9-acre site, which abuts the Metedeconk River and Forge Pond to the north. The document delineates both wetland areas and buffer zones, and was request by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
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“The wetlands are not on the buildable part, and the state has asked us to file this deed down at the county,” said Mayor John Ducey.
The DEP will still have to approve a CAFRA (Coastal Areas Facilities Review Act) permit for the project – a process that can take between six months and a year – and the Ocean County Soil Conservation District must approve the project as well.
“They had their hearing and they’re clearing up a few issues after the hearing,” Ducey said of the county soil board.
The BTMUA must also approve the water-sewer utility plan for the project. Only after the county and MUA approvals are in hand can the CAFRA application be considered by the state.
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The Other Shoe
