Holmdel to host meeting on Lucent Public encouraged to attend, discuss hopes for future of tract BY KAREN BOWES Staff Writer "The zoning that was done at Lucent, it was done for a reason. Most folks I talk to believe Holmdel has enough housing." - Terence Wall The new owners of the Lucent tract are proposing between 250 and 300 new housing units for the 472-acre site, an idea that would require zoning changes for the largely pastoral property. Tomorrow night, the public is invited to attend a discussion on the topic at the conclusion of the 7 p.m. Township Committee meeting at the Holmdel Senior Center, Crawfords Corner Road. According to Mayor Serena DiMaso, this is an opportunity for the public to express their opinions, question officials and meet with a representative from Preferred Real Estate Investments, the new owners of the property. On Monday, Preferred spokesman Jon Bjornson declined to comment on the company's plans for the site, saying that he wished to wait until after Thursday's meeting to discuss the issue. "Preferred has submitted two thoughts," DiMaso said on Monday afternoon. "One is 300 homes for a planned retirement community and the second is 250 for planned retirement and 10 5-acre homes." "However," the mayor added, "based on that information, I don't know if we see the need for housing at this point. To me, they haven't proved their case for housing. Again, I want to hear from the people and the professionals - our planner, our real estate appraiser and our tax attorney." Preferred recently submitted a 32-page report to the town, prepared by Econsult Corp., Philadelphia. The report, available for viewing at town hall, details the potential impacts of the proposed Lucent development on Holmdel Township, school district and Monmouth County. Within the report, planners estimate the development will bring a total of 540 new residents over a period of seven years, or 77 new residents each year until the completion of the project. As for school-age children, the report estimates a total of 20 new students will be added over the same seven-year stretch, or about three new pupils each year. The mayor described the look of the housing units. "The way it's worded, half would be similar to Village Grand, like ranches, so to speak," DiMaso said. "The other half would be courtyard style, like the Beau Ridge development. They're built in a cluster on little tiny cul-de-sacs - five or six homes together, in little cul-de-sacs." Along with housing, the Pennsylvania-based company plans to construct 1.5 million square feet of commercial space at a construction cost of approximately $300 million. "From what they've told us about commercial, we have information that the commercial market is very soft," DiMaso said. "Well, everyone has that information. Their professional said they can build that office space [over] seven years." Preferred proposes utilizing part of the commercial space as "data centers," said the mayor. "Data centers, where Goldman Sachs or a big firm like that could have their data there," DiMaso said. "According to them, it's the new wave to have a separate data center." So how will all of this effect property taxes? "By full build-out, we estimate that total net local tax revenue will amount to over $3.2 million," according to the report. DiMaso said it's up to the residents. If needed, there could be a second and third public input meeting, she said. "I certainly don't want to make a decision in a vacuum," DiMaso said. "It's not my opinion that any decision will be made that evening," the mayor said. "We have to take it back and digest it." From what the owners have told her, the mayor said that the proposed housing - if it's built at all - would be situated quite a distance from the main roadways: 600 feet from Crawfords Corner Road and 300 feet from Roberts Road. But, "Clearly, 300 is an astronomical number," the mayor added. Committeeman Terence Wall has his own ideas for the Lucent property, a proposal that no housing of any kind be allowed on the site. Instead, Wall suggests a park and corporate campus be created, including a library and recreation center to be paid for by the developer. "The economic data shows that housing is not necessary to help stabilize taxes in Holmdel," Wall said on Monday. Wall added, "If you look at the numbers, the ratable value for corporate-only is outstanding. We don't need to build houses to stabilize ratables." In a nutshell, Wall said his vision is to "enable the property to continue to be beautiful and to be a hallmark asset of Holmdel." But how will the town be able to convince the developer to build expensive amenities such as a golf course, senior center and new school administrative offices? These are only a few of the items on Wall's wish list for Lucent. "I guess what I'm getting at is everything's negotiable," Wall said. "It's worth having the dialogue to see where the dialogue goes than to just give up without trying. It's always depressing when elected officials give up without trying." Wall hopes the rest of the committee will agree with his idea to designate the tract an area in need of redevelopment, a zoning title that gives the town powerful jurisdiction over who and what is built on the site. According to Wall, the Lucent tract qualifies for the specialized zoning not because it is unique. "Functional obsolescence," Wall said. "Its a total different criteria. Lucent is 2 million square feet. It's the only property in Holmdel that has a sole source sewer line, so it's unique. The building is functional obsolescence." Wall admits the process of having private property deemed an area in need of redevelopment is complicated and lengthy. "It's simpler for the committee not to do that," Wall said. "But I think that with perseverance and hard work, we can set up a redevelopment plan for the citizens." A change in zoning to allow for housing at the property will most likely be rejected by the citizens, Wall predicts. "The zoning that was done at Lucent, it was done for a reason," Wall said. "Most folks I talk to believe Holmdel has enough housing." Committeeman