'The Rose', Old Bridge's new $15 million public golf course, has opened. Have a look

OLD BRIDGE – "The Rose" is starting to bloom.

The soft opening of the Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson, called “The Rose," New Jersey’s first new public golf course in more than a decade, was held Wednesday with Mayor Owen Henry and others displaying their golfing technique on the driving range and practice putting green.

"This is a jewel, and this is going to be here for the current and the future residents and generations of Old Bridge," Henry said.

The mayor called it an "historic event" because "of the monumental task it took for us to be standing here today. "

The soft opening of the driving range, putting green and miniature golf course for the public is Thursday, Sept. 28.

The regulation 18-hole golf course will have a soft opening in mid-October with limited tee times available. Full tee times will be online starting April 1 with greens fee discounts for township residents, active military personnel and seniors.

The project is located on about 218 acres of township-owned property – the Rose and Lambertson Tract area – on the north and south side of Lambertson Road. In a series of transactions, the township used state Green Acres funds to purchase the property to maintain it as open space.

Designed by New Jersey golf architect Stephen Kay, the complex includes a par-71, 18-hole course, an illuminated 30-bay driving range and a miniature golf course with lighting, water features and rolling terrain.

There's also a 6,000-square foot clubhouse with a pro shop, concession area, cart barn and restrooms, as well as a 5,000-square-foot maintenance building and 110 parking spaces. The rental electric carts will be equipped with GPS screens.

The routing of the 18-hole layout was driven by wetlands and the natural topography. Unlike most American golf courses, the 9th hole does not return to the clubhouse because of the property's unique features.

The Rose is the centerpiece of a more than $35 million public-private partnership between 2020 Acquisitions and the township,

2020 Acquisitions, which funded the construction of the complex, will be making more than $35 million in public improvements for the township with zero cost to township residents, said Efrem Gerszberg, sole principal and CEO of 2020 Acquisitions.

"This is a very special day as it is literally the culmination of almost 20 years of work, vision and planning," Gerszberg said. "The course is incredible. This will be used for the next 100 years."

"Our dream and our vision you've made a reality," the mayor told the developer, adding it was a three-year project done in a little more than a year.

When 2020 Acquisitions proposed a warehouse project on Route 9, "the township negotiated one of Middlesex County's largest ever private contributions" to go along with a warehouse development, Gerszberg said.

2020 Acquisitions is developing the Central 9 Logistics Park, a nine-building, 4.2-million-square-foot campus being built in three phases near Jake Brown Road. Expected completion for the first phase is 2024.

2020 Acquisitions agreed to build a $12.5 million golf course, driving range and miniature golf course, which was ultimately $3 million over budget, bringing the total to over $15 million, Gerszberg said.

The developer also agreed to create a fund for a program teaching township elementary school students about the importance of tree plantings.

But the developer's community contributions didn't stop there.

"We agreed to donate $100,000 to the fire department and provide them with grants to build another firehouse," he said. "We also are going to be building over $17 million in road improvements near routes 9 and 516."

To complete the warehouse project, the developer also bought a significant piece of property from the Old Bridge Board of Education for $10 million, Gerszberg said.

"Although the $35 million is significant, the taxes generated from our project, which will be almost $6 million per year and goes directly to the township of Old Bridge, will represent almost 10% of the township budget going forward," Gerszberg said.

Gerszberg also welcomed William Rose to the event. He said Rose's family lived on the property for generations and he has been "the guiding light" for the project.

"This is what we wished for – my whole family," Rose said. "We did not want houses. We had a lot of developers try to buy our property, but we wouldn't sell it to them because of that."

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ golf courses: Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson opens