Woodbridge exploring flood buyout program, mayor says

WOODBRIDGE – Woodbridge looks to live up to its slogan "the best town around" with an extensive list of projects and improvements planned in 2023.

During his annual State of Township address before members of the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Mayor John E. McCormac outlined municipal, development and recreation projects as well as new businesses set to come to the township of more than 100,000 residents.

And in a quick mention, the mayor announced that after a long wait work is underway at the Henry Inman Branch Library in the Colonia section, which sustained major flood damage during remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021, and the building is expected to reopen later this year.

In addition, the township's Engineering Division is seeking funding for buyouts for residents interested in selling their homes after Ida damage, the mayor said.

And in the Keasbey section, McCormac said, a developer is building a new firehouse for the Keasbey Fire Department which will be traded for the department's existing 50-year-old facility that will become part of the developer's new warehouse project.

Business

In the downtown area, Port Reading native Mike Strickland, the owner of the West Shore Inn and the Fig & Vine on Staten Island, is poised for a spring opening of Strickland’s Steakhouse at the former bank building, which will anchor the new vision for Main Street, the mayor said.

Knot Just Bagels also is slated to open in the spring, and the former J.J. Bitting’s, in the middle of a makeover as the Woodbridge Brewing Company with a renovated interior and a beer garden behind the building with an expanded rooftop patio, is coming this year, he said.

"There are at least three other restaurants in various stages of negotiation planned for Main Street this year, and we are looking forward to adding to our diverse lineup of food establishments which currently includes Mexican, Peruvian, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and more," McCormac said.

Other new businesses and restaurants around town, according to the mayor, include a self-storage facility at the site of the Woodbridge Bowling Center; a new tenant at the former Lord & Taylor in Woodbridge Center that will bring 300 jobs; a Floor & Décor at the former Kmart on Route 35 North; brand-name hotels to replace the deteriorating motels on Route 1; the town's third Chick-Fil-A to replace Pizza Hut on Route 9 North by Walmart; Garden State Veterinary to replace K&G Men’s Store on Route 9 North; a Home Sense to replace Bed Bath & Beyond on Route 1 South; a medical office to replace the QuickChek on Route 1 North; a Noches de Columbia restaurant to replace Bar Louie on Route 1 South; and Aspen Dental opening in the Staples parking lot on Route 1 South.

"We have named a new redeveloper for the corner of Route 35 and Route 1 with specific instructions to bring attractive and recognizable retail tenants to the site," the mayor said, adding a new Cambria hotel will replace the City Motel, the former Star Motel and a dilapidated former bar on Route 1 South, hopefully this year.

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Marijuana

The number of marijuana businesses in town will rise, McCormac said.

"When the state legalized recreational cannabis sales, the township automatically became the home to one facility in the medical marijuana site on Route 1, which was grandfathered in by law, and our preference was to have only that one site. However, when the possibility of locating another retail shop at the adult book store parcel on Route 1 South came up, we decided to allow for one additional cannabis facility," the mayor said.

He said the bookstore will be demolished, and the business in the newer building to its left is already closed to allow the building to be retrofitted for retail cannabis sales once the appropriate license is obtained.

"We will allow other operational categories like cultivation and wholesale production as long as they do not interfere with our residential neighborhoods,” the mayor said. “There is one such plan on a junkyard site in town and we will make that trade any day. We collect 2% of all sales from these facilities that will provide an additional $1 million to our township budget within a few years.”

Recreation

Recreation improvements also are planned.

McCormac said Woodbridge agreed to split the cost with Middlesex County to bring 12 pickle ball courts to the football field at Fords Park, along with a pump track for bicycles and the town's third skate park.

"We will also build 12 pickle ball courts at the Pochek Field site off Routes 1 and 35," he said.

The Springwood Swim Club in Colonia will enter its second year of township operation this June with a new spray park, miniature golf course and outdoor games to go with the new pavilion built late last year, the mayor said.

According to McCormac, The Club at Woodbridge will nearly be finished with its complete makeover when the basketball courts are resurfaced. He said the two hockey rinks have attracted teams from all over the country for tournaments, including last month from South Dakota and Nebraska, which was a boost to local hotels, restaurants and shopping venues.

"Our amenities of the Golf Den and Hockey Den are doing very well, and we added basketball, goalie and pitching clinics recently,” the mayor said. “A new café called Barbells will open at the former Clubhouse Café in a few months as another great resource for our members.

McCormac said the township continues to make progress at the marina with an environmental cleanup of properties acquired three years ago, followed by the replacement of bulkheads and pilings in an effort to restore the entire area to its natural waterfront beauty.

"We will build a brand-new dog park behind the existing one, doubling its size, and Middlesex County will build a bridge connecting our complex to Williams Park. We are also designing a living shoreline to help stop erosion and enhance the natural habitat at our Cliff Road coast, and we are seeking funding to continue expanding the Cliff Road walkway,” he said, adding there are still plans for a 150-seat tiki bar set to open over the summer with a giant picnic area serviced by rotating food trucks and a stage for outdoor concerts.

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: Woodbridge flood buyout program explored, Mayor John McCormac says