Aberdeen Redevelopment Developments - July 2014

The 15 Jul 2014 agenda for the Aberdeen Township Council included quite a bit of movement on the "redevelopment" front. There was to be an open hearing on one ordinance, introduction of a second ordinance, and consent votes on four resolutions all related to four projects in the township. The minutes won't be published for a while, but presumably these things passed.

• Ordinance 8-2014, presented in an open hearing, would approve the redevelopment plan for the Freneau Redevelopment Area. This was being done to meet the requirements of New Jersey Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.
• Ordinance 9-2014, presented for first hearing, would amend the Revised General Ordinances on Administration (Chapter) and Land Development Code (Chapter 25). The edits and additions, which appear in the linked document, are related to zoning matters, not development, and mostly ease township codes that force residents to come before the zoning board. Many of the changes eliminate rules regarding the height of structures. One change allows residents to rebuild a nonconforming structure that was destroyed, perhaps a response to Superstorm Sandy reconstruction?
• Resolution 2014-76 would designate Yellowbrook Property Co LLC as "redeveloper" of the Route 34 Redevelopment Area.
• Resolution 2014-77 would designate Aberdeen/Wilson Associates LLC as "redeveloper" of the Freneau Redevelopment Area. 
• Resolution 2014-78 would approve the related redevelopment agreement with Aberdeen/Wilson.
• An Executive Session Resolution allowed the Council to discuss redevelopment of the train station and South River Metals properties without the public in attendance.

Route 34 Redevelopment Area

This project affects the vicinity of the Lloyd Road and Van Brackle Road intersections with State Highway 34 in Aberdeen.

At NJ Tax Records, Newberry Holdings LLC and R Passarella are listed as the taxpayers for the lots involved in this redevelopment:

• Block 114 Lot 6 - 1337 Highway 34
• Block 114 Lot 7.01 QFARM - 1355 Highway 34
• Block 114 Lot 13 - 1341-1343 Highway 34
• Block 114 Lot 13 QFARM  - South Van Brackle RDF

Yellowbrook Property Co LLC is located at 71 Montrose Road, Colts Neck, NJ 07722, according to Manta. It was incorporated in New Jersey in 2005 and categorized as an operator of nonresidential buildings. It has a staff of 1 to 4 persons and brings in annual revenue between half a million and a million dollars.

Freneau Redevelopment Area
 According to Resolution 2014-77, the Freneau Redevelopment Area was established in a series of resolutions beginning in August 1999, but a lawsuit tied things up until a settlement was reached in December 2013. Aberdeen/Wilson Associates LLC currently plans to erect 250 market rate non-age restricted residential dwelling units on 56 acres of the redevelopment area as shown on the Township Tax Maps as Block 149, Lot 1 and Block 151 Lots 1 through 4.

NJ Tax Records website shows those lots as follows:

• Block 149 Lot 1 - North Wilson Avenue
• Block 151 Lot 1 - New Brunswick Avenue
• Block 151 Lot 2 - South New Brunswick Avenue
• Block 151 Lot 3 - 48 New Brunswick Avenue
• Block 151 Lot 4 - 42 New Brunswick Avenue

Water has always been an issue in Freneau, so the redevelopment plan includes this interesting stipulation (edited slightly for space): The Township shall design, and the Redeveloper shall construct, a Water Tower and Sanitary Sewer Pump Station, which shall be funded and constructed by Redeveloper and service the Project Site as well as other parcels.

Aberdeen/Wilson Associates LLC (0600057889) registered as a limited liability corporation located in Highland Park, NJ in October 1998.

Aberdeen/Wilson Associates LLC was linked to the Horizons at Aberdeen Forge planned adult community redevelopment, long expected to be built in Freneau. Valued at $17 million as of a 2011 summary, it was to sit on 102 acres  in the Wilson Avenue area (Block 122 Lots 8-9, Block 127 Lots 1-12). This legal communication from May 2011 indicated that NY/NJ Baywatcher was the lead NGO coordinating the transfer of land to the township for preservation.