Lease extension raises redevelopment questions Sam's Club will stay at least one more year at Golden Triangle BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer EAST BRUNSWICK - Sam's Club has extended its lease with Toll Brothers and will continue to operate on the Golden Triangle redevelopment site for at least two more years. The price club, which would have to move to make way for the redevelopment project proposed by Toll Brothers, has a new lease that runs through the end of 2009. The businesses on the Golden Triangle site - Sam's Club, Jason's Furniture and the Route 18 Market - had leased their properties from the township until 2005, when the township sold the 32-acre Golden Triangle site to Toll Brothers for $35 million. The businesses, which had leases to keep them there until 2008, have since paid rent to Toll Brothers. But the Pennsylvania-based developer, which is expected to build a "transit village" of housing, commercial and office space, has yet to submit a building application to the Planning Board. A May, 2005 agreement between the township and Toll Brothers stated that the site plan would be submitted by Nov. 15, 2006. The issue came up during Monday night's Township Council meeting, when resident Bernard Prohaska said he was told by a Sam's Club manager that the lease was extended though the end of 2009. Mayor William Neary did not confirm that, saying that township officials would not necessarily know about the relations between a tenant and landlord. But with the lease extended and the lack of a site plan application, Prohaska asked if Neary was concerned that the developer might opt out of its contract, perhaps requiring the township to repay Toll Brothers for the yearly installments it has been giving the township toward the $35 million purchase. Neary said he does not think that will happen, adding that he believes Toll Brothers will soon come before the Planning Board. He said the possibility exists that the township will have to buy back the land, but it is not something to be worried about yet. Meanwhile, construction has begun on a six-story commuter parking deck on the Golden Triangle site. The deck, which will cost the township $32 million and is being funded through commuter parking fees and Suburban Transit, will be operated by the township, and will replace the existing Transportation and Commerce Center (TCC) on the same lot. Prohaska asked why the new TCC is being built if there is a chance that the redevelopment project will fall through. Councilman David Stahl has opposed the construction of the deck before the town is sure the redevelopment will take place. He said the township is going into debt for the parking deck, and if it has to buy the land back from Toll Brothers, it would need to nearly double that debt. Neary said the parking deck is being funded with money from those who use and service it, and that it will be safer, cleaner and more modern. It will also be larger, increasing the number of parking spaces at TCC from 1,130 to 1,681. And Council President Nancy Pinkin said there is a need for the additional parking. She said the township wants to encourage more people use mass transit, and the new deck will help achieve that goal. Stahl said township documents indicate that tax revenue anticipated from the redevelopment project is tied to paying off the debt on the parking deck. He said he is concerned about when Toll Brothers will submit its site plan for the housing, retail and office space. "We need to know when this property will have some form of redevelopment," Stahl said. Resident and commuter Camille Ferrara, also a member of the Commuter Parking Advisory Committee, said the administration should have found out by now if a lease extension has been reached between Toll Brothers and Sam's Club. She said the council keeps meeting in closed session to discuss the Golden Triangle project, but the public is never told what is happening. While Toll Brothers has not commented to the media about its Golden Triangle plans, there was one recent indication that it is moving forward. The builder paid for a mailer to be sent to all East Brunswick residents in September discussing what it calls the Market Place at Regency Square. It says that "over the next few years" the Golden Triangle site will be redeveloped with one- and two-story shops and restaurants near Route 18, and a condominium community with recreation areas toward the back of the site.