Task force will mull future uses on Rt. 33

Utility lines, ballpark

bring new possibilities

to corridor in Monroe

BY SETH MANDEL

Staff Writer

Prompted in part by the prospect of a minor league ballpark on Route 33 in Monroe, a new task force will look at development possibilities along the state highway.

Mayor Richard Pucci has assembled what is being called the Route 33 Land Development Task Force, whose members include several township planning and engineering officials. The task force will be chaired by Joe Montanti, the township’s environmental protection manager and a member of the Planning Board.

The panel will also include Councilman Henry Miller, Township Engineer Ernest Feist, Planning Board Chairman David DeMarco, and Affordable Housing Officer Helga Stoessler. Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton and Municipal Utilities Authority Executive Director Michael Rogers are among the advisers to the task force.

The future development of Route 33 is expected to be centered around the ballpark and will likely include upscale retail establishments and possibly more age-restricted residential developments, Montanti said Tuesday, the day after Pucci announced appointments to the board.

“We really would like this to be something that brings in good ratables, is attractive, helps us create a ballpark that will be very good, inexpensive entertainment for the residents of Monroe and other surrounding towns,” Montanti said.

Local officials, he said, are encouraged by the success of other minor league teams such as those in Trenton and Bridgewater, and that township land fronting on Route 33 is a prime spot for a similar ballpark.

“The demographics are right in Monroe Township; you couldn’t ask for a better location,” Montanti said.

Officials do not have a piece of land picked out for the ballpark yet, according to Montanti, but there are several developers with contracts for parcels that are large enough for such a use.

“Our goal is to try to put together something comprehensive that would make sense to a developer and would create an environment where the ballpark would be feasible,” Montanti said.

Although the township’s highway development laws have been in effect for 20 years, Route 33 has not been a viable option for development because it has not had access to municipal water and sewer lines.

Montanti said the utility connections will be in place shortly, and development that was previously mere speculation can become a reality.

Because of its location, any development along Route 33 will be the first thing in Monroe that passersby encounter on the highway.

“We want this to be something that will give people a good first impression of Monroe Township,” Montanti said. “A lot of people don’t know where Monroe exists. For many years we suffered from lacking a post office and a zip code, and so Monroe did not have much of an identity. Well, we’ve been developing one, but we want to continue developing it, but have it be completely positive.”

Montanti said officials want to plan and structure the development carefully in order to prevent the township’s limited highway frontage from becoming a random assortment of retail businesses.

“We only have one chance to do Route 33 and do it right, so that’s really what this is about,” he said.

He said Pucci wants future development to be a source for tax ratables, but not at the expense of the town’s image.

“There’s probably ways where we could develop it where we could get more ratables, but that’s not what [Pucci] wants to do,” Montanti said. “He wants to make sure it’s something that brings in a fair share of ratables, which helps offset people’s property taxes, but also, it’s got to be something that’s attractive. The last thing we want is to re-create Route 9.”

Montanti added that the township will not have traffic signals installed every quarter-mile, and there will not be exits or intersections every 100 feet.

“This is going to be something that will be with the town for many, many years to come,” Montanti said. “We want it to be something that people look at positively, not negatively.”

Officials plan to minimize the development’s impact both on area residents and the nearby watershed area.

“We’re very sensitive to the fact that we don’t want to put this [ballpark] in somebody’s back yard,” he said. “But one of the great things about Route 33 is, there are many areas along Route 33 where you could put this where it wouldn’t be in anyone’s back yard.”

Minor league baseball, he noted, has become a very popular and affordable family activity, and the ballpark would benefit township residents as well as those of neighboring towns like Millstone and East Windsor.

“Between all the retirement communities, we have many thousands of seniors,” he said. “Most of them are on fixed incomes, and we look at this as being something that we think they are really going to embrace, because it’ll give them someplace to go that will not be real expensive, it will be close to home, it will be a lot of fun, and then we have a lot of single-family residences, people with kids.”

Aside from ballpark-related development, there will probably be additional retail establishments and age-restricted communities built on or near Route 33.

“But again, we’re looking at a complete picture,” he said. “There are only several landowners along 33 that hold properties of any size. There are a few smaller landowners, and there are a few existing businesses, and we’re not looking to displace them.”

Montanti said the task force will meet with developers and land owners along Route 33 to field suggestions for the development, and help the project begin to take shape.

Pucci has asked the task force to present a report with research and recommendations by June 15.

Montanti noted that one minor league baseball team owner is “very interested” in partnering with Middlesex County to build a ballpark.

“ … And I think we’ve got to show him that we’re very interested by moving forward quickly,” he said.

Steve Calafer, co-owner of the Somerset Patriots baseball team, has expressed interest in the Monroe ballpark and last year commissioned a study with the Middlesex County Improvement Authority to determine the feasibility of such a venture. The study found that a 6,000-seat stadium would likely be very successful in this region.

For the task force, the June 15 deadline makes for a hectic six weeks of coordination and negotiations with developers, but it could allow the township to dictate the form that future development will take.

“If we put this off, or if we drag our feet, well, somebody else on Route 33 may come up with something, which is another reason for wanting to get this done quickly,” he said.

Now that the land will have water and sewer connections, it is important for the township to not just participate in the development of the area, but to be first in line to court developers and retailers.

“Route 33 will be developed — and not just in Monroe — through its entire length over the course of time,” Montanti said. “Being able to do something now before other towns get sewers and start looking at the same thing we’re looking at gives us the advantage of being able to maybe attract the best retail now.”

But, Montanti said, officials intend to proceed carefully, with the understanding that once the development takes place, the township cannot simply erase it and start over if it is not satisfied.

“We are going to spend the time and make the effort to make sure that whatever we do, no matter how short a time frame we’re going to do it in, is going to be the best possible thing we can come up with,” Montanti said.