| Archived
7/6/2006
Posted by the Ocean County Observer on 06/15/06
Hilton, eateries set for Lakewood
BY MATT PAIS
STAFF WRITER
LAKEWOOD - With a few strokes of a pen, the long struggle involving the development of a 12-acre tract of land along Route 70 was ended.
For the better part of three years, Hotels Unlimited, an East Windsor development company, had waited for approval that would clear the way for the construction of a Hilton Garden Inn hotel and three nationally franchised restaurants on the site. The waiting officially came to an end yesterday when a Hotels Unlimited subsidiary, Parkway Lodging Realty, L.L.C. signed off on the $2.25 million sale of the property previously owned by the township.
The property, located east of the Garden State Property near the Brick border, is expected to generate more than $15 million in ratables, said Russell K. Corby, executive director of the Lakewood Industrial Commission.
"All the pieces finally came together," Corby said of the long-awaited sale.
The project, which received final Planning Board approval in July 2005, had been held up as officials waited for the state Department of Environmental Protection to issue a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act permit.
"CAFRA always takes a while, but we finally have that out of the way," Corby said.
In addition to permitting issues, the infrastructure of the area had been inadequate to support the proposed 110-room hotel and eateries.
"There really were no utilities at the site, but there has been an agreement reached with the Lakewood MUA to get water there," said Corby.
Carey Tajfel, vice President of Hotels Unlimited, said the company is glad the tedious permitting process is over and looks forward to finally breaking ground.
"We're very excited about the project coming to fruition," he said. "We knew it was just a matter of time."
Tajfel said his company had been eager to acquire the land because of its prime location near the commercial center of Brick. The deal was further sweetened by the township committee's willingness to extend a five-year graduated tax abatement.
The company will pay no property taxes the first year during construction, Tajfel said. The next year, it will have to pay only 20 percent with the total increasing by an additional 20 percent annually until year six when it would begin paying its full share of property taxes.
Corby said the site is likely to generate up to $500,000 in general tax revenues annually once the abatement is over, as well as contribute about 150 new job opportunities.
"That's what's really important to us," Corby said of the jobs.
The sale was heralded by township Committeeman Charles Cunliffe, who also serves as liaison to the Industrial Commission.
"It is a very positive step forward for Lakewood Township," he said in a statement. "The hotel and restaurant complex moves the entire town in the right direction."
The restaurant complex, which is expected to include Ruby Tuesday's and a LongHorn Steakhouse, could be open as early as fall of this year. Groundbreaking on the hotel is expected to take place sometime in late 2007, Corby said.
The same site had been slated to be turned into a hotel and conference center, a plan that received approval nearly five years ago. But the development company scaled back the size of the hotel from 200 rooms to its currently proposed size in order to add the restaurant facilities on site.
Hotels Unlimited also owns and operates the Ramada Inn on Route 9 in Toms River as well as the Holiday Inn on Route 37 in Toms River.
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