Metuchen eyes another vacant property for its envisioned downtown arts district

Suzanne Russell, MyCentralJersey.com
·2 min read

METUCHEN – The borough is preparing to acquire a vacant gas station property, located in the gateway to downtown, through condemnation if the parties can’t agree on a fair-market price.

The borough wants the property at the intersection of Main Street and Amboy Avenue for its planned Metuchen Arts District. The Forum Theatre, which is adjacent to the gas station property, is the centerpiece of the arts district and envisioned as a multipurpose arts center.

This week the Borough Council introduced an ordinance to acquire the property at 304 Main St., the site of a former Jersey gas station, though eminent domain if the borough can't obtain it at fair-market value through good-faith negotiations.

A public hearing and adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for the council's Dec. 11 meeting.

The vacant gas station property at the corner of Main Street and Amboy Avenue in Metuchen that the borough wants to purchase.
The vacant gas station property at the corner of Main Street and Amboy Avenue in Metuchen that the borough wants to purchase.

Mayor Jonathan Busch said the borough is pursuing a variety of avenues toward the goal of bringing the Metuchen Arts District to life.

"Over the last few years, the borough has been negotiating in good faith with the owner of the former gas station property on the corner of Main Street and Amboy Avenue in an attempt to acquire and transform this abandoned property. It served as a gas station until 2016 and has since fallen into disrepair," Busch said in a Facebook post. "The property is not only part of a pivotal gateway to our downtown but it is also adjacent to the Forum Theatre and is therefore critical to our eventual development of the Metuchen Arts District."

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The mayor said the ordinance provides a more formal proceeding for acquiring the property, as well as taking environmental cleanup costs into account.

"While the borough will continue to engage in good faith negotiations with the property owner, we consider the adoption of this ordinance as an important step that protects Metuchen’s interest in the site," Busch said. "Once acquired, the property’s purchase will be funded with monies remaining from the Middlesex County arts grant that was awarded to the borough in 2019."

Earlier this year the Borough Council approved an ordinance expanding the Arts District Redevelopment Plan to areas along Main Street, Amboy Avenue and a parking lot totaling about 8 acres.

Borough officials have been working for several years on a plan to create a Metuchen Arts District with the Forum Theatre on Main Street as the centerpiece.

Metuchen purchased the Forum Theater in 2019.
Metuchen purchased the Forum Theater in 2019.

The Forum Theatre, a former movie and vaudeville theater which dates to the 1920s, was acquired with county grant funds in 2019, but the borough knew it would take time to reopen the theatre to the public, in part due to the building's structural issues.

Residents have expressed interest for the Metuchen Arts District to incorporate features like performance and rehearsal space, art galleries and a maker space.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Metuchen NJ eyes vacant gas station for planned downtown arts district