Aberdeen has high hopes for redevelopment
By marilyn duff
Staff Writer

An artist’s rendering of the Jefferson at Aberdeen apartment complex.

Although a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the centerpiece of Aberdeen’s train station redevelopment plan has been postponed until January, work has already started on the upscale Jefferson at Aberdeen apartment complex.

The ceremony had been scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed until Jan. 13 because out-of-state weather conditions impeded the developer’s plans to participate.

The gated, 290-unit rental community — the first phase of the planned redevelopment of the 60-acre area adjoining the new Aberdeen-Matawan train station on Atlantic Avenue — is being hailed by Aberdeen officials as the most significant economic opportunity to come to Aberdeen in more than two decades.

Aberdeen is currently in discussions with NJ Transit and Matawan officials to jointly plan the redevelopment of the entire train station area, including approximately 40 acres in Matawan.

"A few years ago, the council engaged in a process that would further diversify the economic base, address both housing needs and transportation concerns" and would revitalize the Aberdeen train station area, Mayor David Sobel said in a press statement. This led to the creation of the redevelopment plan, including housing and commercial uses, and an application from JPI Development, a Texas-based national luxury apartment developer, to create what Aberdeen officials "view as the crown jewel of this redevelopment zone," Sobel continued.

The apartment complex, located on 14 acres or approximately a quarter of the 60-acre Aberdeen redevelopment area, is scheduled to open next fall and be completed the following fall.

It will include six four-story elevator buildings with one- and two-bedroom apartments averaging 1,022 square feet in size. Monthly rentals are expected to range from $1,250 to $2,300. The complex will also feature a 5,600-square-foot clubhouse with a swimming pool, theater, exercise facility and business/conference center.

Councilman Lionel Wilson estimates that the project will add approximately $38 million to the township’s tax base, while placing minimal demands on township and school district services. Because 55 percent of the units will contain just one bedroom, the township planner estimates that few, if any, school-age children will reside there, Wilson noted.

As for municipal services, because it will be a private, gated community, the internal roads will be the responsibility of the township. Also, the management company will provide its own security, lessening the need for local police responses, officials said.

Councilman Nick Minutolo points out that the development, with its direct walkway to the nearby train station, represents "the type of environmentally sound development being encouraged by the Office of State Planning and NJ Transit. "By placing the main entrance to Jefferson about a half-mile from the train station at the intersection of Lower Main Street and Central Avenue, the community’s vehicular traffic should have minimal impact on traffic patterns in the immediate area of the station," he added.

According to W. Pretlow Riddick, divisional president and managing partner of the eastern division of JPI, the apartment buildings will be Victorian in style and the unit interiors will feature 9-foot ceilings, fireplaces and oversized bathrooms.

"Elaborate entrance monuments and perimeter fencing will reinforce a sense of privacy and exclusivity," he said in a JPI press release.

The company also notes that the community will overlook the Mohingson Creek.