TOMS RIVER, NJ – Toms River Councilman Justin Lamb, a critic of Toms River Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill’s plan to build a massive 10-story apartment building in Downtown Times River, nothing more than an election scam.
In a video published last week, Hill unveiled a rendering of the proposed 10-story-twin tower project in Downtown Toms River reimagined instead as a massive six-story blocked megastructure with the same number of units as the twin-story project.
Hill said the tower will now be lowered by four stories but will be made larger to accommodate the same number of apartment units.
Lamb quickly responded, saying the alleged redesign was nothing more than an election stunt by the mayor.
Dan Rodrick, who is running against Hill for Mayor, agreed, saying the plan doesn’t change anything and is just a new package for the same overdevelopment project in an attempt to fool residents of Toms River.
“It’s more than just an election stunt,” Rodrick said today. “It’s an election scam.”
Hill’s political campaign conducted multiple polls, which found that only 20% of residents agreed with his 10-story twin tower project downtown.
Rodrick said Hill’s announcement of the reconfiguration was a desperate attempt by the mayor to save face just two weeks before the election.
“This doesn’t change the fact that Mayor Hill wants to build bigger and build taller in Toms River,” Rodrick said. “This is not what the people of Toms River want. It doesn’t matter how many floors he claims it’s going to have, it’s 500 units we don’t need and the people don’t want. Mayor Hill wants to build these large apartment buildings all over downtown Toms River, and if he wins, that’s what he’s going to do.”
A plan on file on the township website shows renderings of at least twenty more apartment buildings and large condominiums planned by Hill and his allies on the township council.
Rodrick noted that Hill wants to relocate the Toms River Post Office out of the downtown area and build another massive apartment project. Additionally, Rodrick said Hill has targeted other parking lots and open spaces in the downtown area for redevelopment with large apartment buildings.
Hill’s new plan will once again go before the planning board, but the developer only provided Hill with a concept drawing similar to ones used by former Mayor Thomas Kelaher when the project was announced three years ago.
A 3d-rendering of proposed apartments and townhomes to be built along Water Street in Toms River, created by Toms River Township is shown below.