Some TCC parkers to use Tower Center for period
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK - Commuters who use the daily parking spots at the township's Transportation and Commerce Center (TCC) lot will be able to park at the Tower Center while a new parking deck is being built.

The Township Council approved a lease with the Tower Center that allows commuters to use two floors of a parking deck there for a 12-month period after the current TCC lot is closed. The construction will affect only those commuters who use the approximately 400 daily parking spots at the lot. Those with monthly permits can continue to park in the same location because the construction will not involve that area.

The township will pay about $17,000 per month for use of the approximately 390 spaces at the Tower Center.

Councilman David Stahl asked for some last-minute changes to the lease when it was discussed at the Aug. 28 council meeting. He told the Sentinel he wanted to be sure the lease gave the township enough time for the new deck to be built. The original language in the lease had different ending points for the contract.

In one area, the lease was said to expire in November 2007, but in another, the date was listed as July 2007, Stahl noted. Neither is satisfactory, because the township needs at least 12 months to build the deck. No date was given for the beginning of construction.

"We do not know for sure when the lease will start, so why are we putting the expiration date in," Stahl asked.

The lease was changed to state that it expires 12 months after use of the space begins, he said. That should give Toll Brothers, which is acting as general contractor for the construction, enough time to make sure the deck is finished.

The six-story parking deck is expected to have 1,500 spaces, which is about 300 more than the current TCC, as well as more amenities. The deck, being funded by the township, is expected to cost about $29 million.

The parking deck will be built in the area known as the Golden Triangle, and will be a vital part of the transit village of residential homes and businesses planned for that site. The township last year sold the property to Toll Brothers, which will replace existing stores such as Sam's Club with the mixed-use development.

Stahl said he has yet to hear a date for the construction to begin on the TCC deck. The township is still proceeding through a lengthy permit process, he said.

At the meeting, Stahl said that because the expiration date was spelled out in the contract, the township would have to enter into a lease extension, should construction run past that time. The township may not be able to get such an extension.

Township Attorney Michael Baker said rent would begin to be paid to the Tower Center as soon as the township begins using the space.