TOMS RIVER, NJ (EDITORIAL) – A plan to build a 10-story twin tower project in Toms River could be in jeopardy as Toms River Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill struggles to save the project amid fierce opposition from residents and his political adversaries.
According to insiders in Toms River, high-interest rates combined with increased costs in construction materials have created a cause for financial concern with the project.
Now, Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill is seeking to turn the economic problems into political capital for his embattled re-election campaign. Hill is not ready to let the project die, instead, he is working with the developers to make the project more cost-effective as the economy and supply chain issues are working against the builder.
Hill, who proudly supported and boasted the ten-story twin tower project, is now claiming credit for a proposed reconfiguration of the project just weeks before the election, but that reconfiguration is by far, not a done deal.
Hill has proposed a newly proposed plan to make the building on a much larger foot print, but shorter but will need to go before the town for approval. That means the town could have an opportunity to stop the project altogether if they called the builder’s and Mo Hill’s bluff.
The number of units to be built remains the same.
If the builder is unable to build the 10-story project and prefers a more cost-effective footprint to accommodate the same number of apartment units, the primary election in June could have major consequences.
The town could use eminent domain to purchase the land back from the developer, chosen by Hill and his council allies.
It wouldn’t be the first time Toms River blocked a 10-story tower from being built downtown.
In the 1970s, a similar project to build a 10-story apartment tower was defeated. Instead of a 10-story monstrosity, the nearby Spinnaker Cove and Riverview Point waterfront condo complexes were built.
Toms River Councilman Daniel Rodrick, who has vehemently opposed Hill’s plan to build the 10-story apartment twin towers, said Hill’s new plan is nothing more than an election ruse and if the town planners reject the new plan, the builder will still build the 10-story tower, which it already has approvals for.
The newly proposed plan would have to be heard by the township planning or zoning board.
Why the sudden change of heart by Mayor Hill?
Hill ran multiple polls this year to see if Toms River residents agreed with his agenda to build multiple skyscrapers in downtown Toms River. After finding most residents do not share his vision, is trying to rebrand himself weeks before the election.
Only 20% of Toms River residents agree with Hill’s plan to turn Downtown into a city. During an election year, that’s not good news for Hill. Now, he’s trying to salvage his campaign and seat in the mayor’s office with a new idea just days before the upcoming election.
“Mo Hill wants to build thousands of apartment units in Downtown Toms River, he has made that very clear,” Rodrick said. “He wants to sell the post office and build a tower. He wants to sell a municipal parking lot across the street and build a tower. He wants towers on several parking lots along Water Street. Nothing has changed. His plan calls for as many as twenty apartment buildings downtown according to his plan that is on file with the township.”
Hill said Rodrick’s plan to stop overdevelopment in Downtown Toms River was a ‘childish dream‘.
“Any town that has gone through redevelopment has gone vertical,” Hill said in an interview with Toms River Shorebeat. “It’s not a small village, and I don’t think you can go back there. We’d all like to go back to the way things were in our childhood, but it’s just not realistic.”
Hill intends to push forward to turn downtown Toms River into a large and bustling urbanized city.
Rodrick said he would like to see the downtown area revitalized, but dozens of 500-unit apartment towers are not the way to do it.
Rodrick has also been critical of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program offered to the developers of the 10-story tower project. Under that plan, the township would get an upfront payment, but for ten years, the project would not pay any school taxes, but would add more students to the district’s enrollment, compounding the district’s financial problems it currently faces.
Hill and Rodrick will face off against each other on June 6th, Election Day. Independent voters who never voted in a primary election and registered Republicans are eligible to vote.