Where things stand on the redevelopment of Flemington's Liberty Village shopping outlets
FLEMINGTON – The long-awaited transformation of Liberty Village into a residential community took a step forward Tuesday when the borough Planning Board decided that the revised redevelopment plan is not inconsistent with the borough's Master Plan.
That clears the way for the Borough Council to take final action on an ordinance, introduced earlier this year, adopting the downsized redevelopment plan for the 23-acre tract. A public hearing will be held before the Council votes on final adoption.
But there's still a long way to go.
Once that redevelopment plan is adopted, Hoboken Brownstone Company, the developer, will submit site plans for the project to the Planning Board which will also hold public hearings. No timeline has been set.
And the Borough Council still must reach a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the developer. That ordinance will also be subject to a public hearing.
The new redevelopment plan calls for 123 residential units in 21 three-story buildings at the site of the former shopping outlets. Seven of the units will be affordable for-sale homes.
The plan also includes 12 apartments reserved for disabled military veterans in two three-story buildings.
The original plan proposed 140 market-rate and 55 affordable townhomes and 180 apartments.
Twenty-one of the residential units plus the veterans apartments will be on the west side of the Black River and Western Railroad in what used to be the shopping center's parking lot. The other residences are proposed for the east side of the railroad along an extension of Central Avenue.
Hoboken Brownstone has also agreed to develop a park along Brown Street.
The developer will also preserve two buildings on the southside of Church Street near Central Avenue with one building to be donated to the borough.
More: Here's how to help the brunch spot at Flemington Filling Station open its doors
The biggest challenge in drafting the new redevelopment plan was a lengthy negotiation between the state Department of Environmental Protection and Hoboken Brownstone on stormwater management, Mayor Marcia Karrow told other Planning Board members.
Under new state regulations, the DEP ruled that all stormwater from the development must stay on the site.
The redevelopment plan calls for stormwater to be directed to a large basin along Route 12 between the commuter lot and the roadway.
The revised plan replaces the original redevelopment plan adopted late in 2021. That plan called for the development in two phases, while the revised plan also calls for the first phase.
The first redevelopment plan ran into concerns about drainage and stormwater management in an area of the borough that is prone to flooding.
When Liberty Village opened more than four decades ago in 1981, it enjoyed great success and was expanded in the late 1990s.
Every weekend, especially during the holiday season, the parking lots were filled as shoppers throughout the metropolitan area flocked to Flemington.
But as more retail space was built in Raritan Township and in Central Jersey and as retail patterns changed to online shopping and discount stores, Liberty Village experienced a steady decline.
The 168,836-square-foot shopping center had been owned by the Simon Property Group, one of the nation's largest shopping center developers that also owns the Menlo Park, Rockaway Townsquare and Quakerbridge malls and outlet centers in Tinton Falls and Jackson.
Namdar Realty Group bought Liberty Village in 2019. Namdar is a privately held, commercial real estate investment firm, owning and managing more than 51 million square feet of commercial real estate throughout the United States.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Flemington NJ Liberty Village outlets redevelopment plan advances
