BERKELEY – The Route 9 corridor is the largest commercially zoned area in the township, and some new businesses are in the process of opening up.
“Despite widespread business closures throughout the country because of the pandemic and downturn in the national economy, we have fared pretty well,” Berkeley Mayor Carmen Amato said. “We continue to work with the realtors and property owners along the corridor to stimulate business interest.”
In the Berkeley Plaza, where the ShopRite is, the most southern unit is under construction. The new tenant will be a Mavis Discount Tire. Also in that lot, McDonald’s underwent a significant renovation recently.
A new small addition to the Berkeley Plaza is going to be built in spring or summer, Amato said. They will also complete the Frederick Drive light for ingress and egress into the plaza as well. The traffic light improvement will be later in the year.
Many people have noticed that the trees north of Castle Woodcraft were cut down and the land leveled. This will eventually be two, one-story commercial buildings. Close to Route 9, there will be a strip mall with six units, each between 1,620 – 2,700 square feet. Behind that would be an 11,400 square foot warehouse. Further behind that would be a drainage basin.
The Bayville Commons, which used to house the Foodtown, has some new tenants, including Island Beach Distillery, Smokies BBQ, and Perk Café.
Across from the famed dinosaur there are two new restaurants: Pie’s Place and Taste Bowls. Meanwhile, the Vinyl Dinosaur relocated to a bigger area next to OH What A Bagel, Amato said. He also mentioned that C&G Café changed its name to Grits And Grace. It’s still the same family that owns it; only the name changed.
“The old driving range section at Blackbeard’s Cave will become storage units which are ratable rich with low traffic impact,” Amato said. Another parcel at Blackbeard’s Cave – owned by the Johnson family – will be preserved with the county’s help. “We would like to keep this area open space or developed as a recreation area with similar uses of what was there.”
The Beachwood Mall is a sore spot for some, because it is an eyesore. For many years, officials have been working on getting the abandoned property cleaned up and made into something to benefit the town. The difficulty is that it is expensive to clean up the land. It is not just the former mall property, but the former asphalt plant behind it. Estimates for the clean up have been so high that many developers passed on it.
The township designated this as a redevelopment area, which means certain incentives would be given to the right builder. Recently, a number of extra uses were added, including warehouses, recreational, a gas station, and solar fields.
M & M Realty Partners and Lennar Corporation formed a joint venture where they will redevelop the spot. Years ago, they intended on making a mix of commercial, office/professional, and residential buildings. They had planned big box spots, pad sites, and a downtown walkable feel.
However, the economy has been changed, and warehouses are in more demand than brick and mortar businesses.
“If you’re looking for a new Target, Walmart, or Home Depot, they’re not building new stores very often,” Township Planner James Oris said at a recent meeting.
Residents suspect an Amazon warehouse might find its way there. Township officials said that the uses were expanded to include warehouses, but the change wouldn’t cater specifically to Amazon; it could be any warehouse.
Both the Beachwood Mall and Blackbeard’s Cave are in the town’s redevelopment zone, Amato said. One of the benefits of this is that it adds another layer of control. Normally, any plan would have to go through the town’s land use board. This would also have to be approved by the Township Redevelopment Agency, which is also the Township Council.
With the recent paving of Route 9, the mayor said he expects there will be even more interest in businesses coming to that stretch of road.
“We have made tremendous progress but we realize we have more work to do,” he said.
