Plan calls for sprawling farm in west Freehold to be 160 new homes
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Fields and trees currently cover the southeast corner of Siloam and Monmouth roads, but a plan to develop this rural 128-acre parcel with 160 new homes is raising concerns from neighbors.
The property is currently owned by the Brock family, the same family that runs Brock Farms nursery and garden centers on Route 9 in Freehold Township and Route 34 in Colts Neck.
K. Hovnanian, the housing developer, submitted plans to the Freehold Township Planning Board and aims to transform this farm south of Monmouth Road into 128 single-family houses and 32 homes within duplexes. The new neighborhood, if approved, would be called the Preserve at Freehold and would lie west of the Holland Ridge community.
Planning Board official Todd Brown said Thursday that a hearing date had not yet been set for the proposal. When it finally is heard, neighbors are expected to push back.
"One hundred sixty houses are going to be built on farmland," said neighbor Jilltrude Barba. "Wait a second. We don't even have sewers out here."
Such a high density of new housing is likely to lower nearby property values, Barba said. In addition, the new development would only make existing traffic problems in the area worse, she said.
"There are regularly serious accidents at the corner of (Routes) 527 (Siloam Road) and 537 (Monmouth Road)," Barba said. "There is so much traffic on this road. If you have to make a turn against the traffic, you have to allow for 10 minutes."
Other neighbors said they were concerned about the proposal, but declined to speak on the record.
The developer is currently seeking a Freshwater Wetlands Letter of Interpretation from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to mark flood hazard areas and wetlands on the property, according to letters sent to neighbors. Flood and wetlands areas could limit development within the parcel.
Pressure to build new homes is high in this area of Monmouth County. The median sale price of homes in west Freehold as of December was $689,000, up 60% from the previous year, according to Redfin, the real estate brokerage and mortgage website.
For comparison, median sale prices of homes in Monmouth County as of December, were $625,000, lower than in west Freehold, according to Redfin. Home prices across the county grew a more modest 13.6% year-over-year, according to the website.
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Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Freehold farm would be turned into housing development under new plan
