TOMS RIVER, NJ – A project to build two twin towers along Water Street and the Toms River has been approved as a centerpiece of a larger downtown redevelopment plan. That plan, on record with the township, calls for up to an additional 20 buildings, which are permitted to be built as high as 12 stories tall and 140 feet tall.
The tower projects & plan have faced considerable pushback from residents and Councilman Rodrick – who criticized the density and has said such residential development could turn Toms River into a city. That pushback and economic problems with the developer forced the project to just six stories but with the same amount of apartments as the ten-story plan.
Rodrick recently advocated non-renewal of the redevelopment contract granted to Capodagli Group to build the first two towers after a controversy arose regarding whether the contract had lapsed.
The agreement with Capodagli was struck with the Mo Hill administration and questions had arisen as to whether the developer met the contractual obligation deadlines. The administration, despite Rodrick’s opposition, recently extended those deadlines by 1 year.
Councilman Rodrick and Councilman Justin Lamb voted against the extension. Rodrick’s Democratic opponent, Ben Giovine has come out in favor of the twin tower projects, others like it, and the controversial Downtown Redevelopment Plan. Giovine said he believes that the additional foot traffic will be good for businesses, and he supports the plan.
Giovine has said he’s concerned about empty storefronts and believes that building more apartments will bring more people downtown, and that will improve the business climate.
“While some on council have been critical of improvement districts, such as the one we have in downtown, we have seen that these approaches work”. Giovine said.
He believes we should try similar development plans in other parts of the town as well.
“We should replicate these efforts elsewhere across town”, Giovine said, but Rodrick disagreed.
“More apartments aren’t the answer. The empty storefronts we see throughout our town are not unique to Toms River. It’s happening everywhere, and it’s the result of the explosive growth in online shopping. Building a small city of high-rise apartments isn’t going to change that. It will only increase traffic, jack up our property taxes, and hurt our school budgets”, Rodrick said. “And even if it did improve the business climate, I still wouldn’t support turning our town into a city.”
Another major concern that opponents of the downtown redevelopment plan have voiced is the special 30-year school tax exemption that was given to the developer as an incentive to build these projects.
Toms River has already lost millions in state school aid due to decreasing enrollment. Shifting demographics have resulted in a loss of approximately four thousand public school students. Public school districts in Ocean County typically receive around $4500 in aid per pupil. Rodrick believes that building thousands of apartments exempt from school taxes will only exacerbate the district’s current funding problems.
“These developers aren’t going to pay school taxes for 30 years, and taxpayers will be left with the bill. This has to be stopped,” Rodrick said.
“We shouldn’t be afraid to have open and honest conversations about future development in Toms River. We know we need to make investments in resiliency and transportation. And most importantly, we need to prepare Toms River not just for the next 10 years but for the next 50 years. Toms River needs vision and leadership – not just empty votes with no plan to back them up,” Giovine said of the development plan and Rodrick’s vote against it.
“Giovine is completely out of touch with the residents of Toms River and their feelings about overdevelopment. This is a quality-of-life issue. We don’t want to live in a city! People moved to Toms River to escape from overcrowded cities with hi-rise apartments, high crime rates, and outrageous property taxes,” said Rodrick.
Another plan that hasn’t been discussed much includes lining Route 37 east and west between Fischer Boulevard and Barnegat Bay with rows of apartment complexes, as seen below. All of the renderings and project plans are available to view on the township website.
Rodrick said residents should not believe the political hype or spin that is out there downplaying the plan and they should visit the township’s website and look at the redevelopment plan here: Toms River Downtown Redevelopment Plan.
