Flemington outlet center redeveloper to donate $2M for borough infrastructure improvements
FLEMINGTON – The developer of housing on the Liberty Village site has agreed to donate $2 million for infrastructure improvements anywhere in Flemington as part of its redevelopment agreement with the borough.
The donation is part of the agreement unanimously approved Monday by the Borough Council with HBC Liberty Village LLC, part of Hoboken Brownstone Co.
The developer also agreed to donate to the borough the building in the outlet center that housed the Ralph Lauren store, after previously suggesting the building could be used as a new municipal building.
HBC Liberty Village also agreed to develop and donate to the borough a small park on Brown Street open to all residents and to donate or acquire a plot of land that the borough could install a new well for its water system.
"It's a very good redevelopment plan," Mayor Betsy Driver said. "It's a good deal for the borough."
Adoption of the redevelopment plan, the mayor said, is "just one step in many."
The mayor said HBC Liberty Village has already been talking with Brown Street residents about the design of the playground.
The agreement also outlines the affordable housing component of the development which will have 150 for-sale townhomes and 225 rental apartments in five buildings.
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Borough planner Beth McManus said 10% of the townhomes will be set aside for individuals with low to moderate incomes with 5% set aside as group homes for adults with developmental disabilities.
McManus said 15% of the apartments will also be dedicated to low- and moderate-income residents.
The affordable units will be blended "seamlessly" into the community, she said.
The developer will identify an agency to manage the group home housing, she said, and the borough will have final approval.
The townhomes will be built in the first phase of the project and the apartments will be in the second phase.
Andrew Brewer, the borough's redevelopment attorney, said HBC Liberty Village is working with the state Department of Environmental Protection on flooding and drainage issues with the apartments planned for the outlet center's parking area off Route 12.
He explained the $2 million donation will be made in two parts, before the construction of the townhomes and before the construction of the apartments.
Brewer also said the developer has requested a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the borough because, while the developer has lined up financing, it is a "financially stretched project that could use some assistance."
HBC Liberty Village is working with the borough's consultants on developing the agreement, he said.
HBC Liberty Village will have to come back to the Borough Council with final plans before appearing before the Planning Board for site plan approval, Brewer said.
Liberty Village was the nation's first outlet mall. When it opened more than our decades ago in 1981, it enjoyed great success and was expanded in the late 1990s.
Every weekend, especially during the holiday season, the parking lots were filled as shoppers throughout the metropolitan area flocked to Flemington.
But as more retail space was built in Raritan Township and in Central Jersey and as retail patterns changed to online shopping and discount stores, Liberty Village experienced a steady decline.
The 168,836-square-foot shopping center had been owned by the Simon Property Group, one of the nation's largest shopping center developers that also owns the Menlo Park, Rockaway Townsquare and Quakerbridge malls and outlet centers in Tinton Falls and Jackson.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Flemington: Liberty Village developer to donate $2M for infrastructure
