'Sports Dome' Developer Seeks Tax Abatement For $13.1 Million Project At Foodtown Site

BRICK, NJ — There's movement on a long-awaited project at the former Foodtown site in Brick, as the applicant is before the Township Council seeking a tax abatement agreement.

A Leonia-based LLC applied to put up three sports buildings at the 5.7-acre property at 780 Route 70. The applicant, LCP Sports II Urban Renewal LLC, requested a 30-year Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement from the township to help raise capital for the $13.1 million project.

The ordinance is on its first reading; there will be a public input session at the September 13 meeting.

"Sports Dome is going to be an awesome thing for the town, it's something that people have wanted for very long," Mayor John G. Ducey told Patch. "It's a historical day when we break ground on that site."

The site on Route 70 will include the approximately 68,400-square-foot "Sports Dome," a parking lot, a 27,600-square-foot building for basketball and daycare, and another 28,800-square-foot sports building, township documents show.

There will also be a walking path and a sand volleyball court outside, Ducey said.

Officials estimate the project will generate about $280,000 per year to the county over that 30-year period, township documents show.

Dome construction is expected to begin in December, with the building's construction scheduled in February and March 2023 and the final site work next May.

The applicant plans to pay for the project by financing 65 percent of it and using private equity for the remaining 35 percent, documents show.

Brick Township bought the property, once home to Foodtown and Bradlees, in 2003 for more than $6 million to prevent construction of a home improvement store.

In 2009 the former Foodtown was demolished, but despite an agreement the following year to redevelop the site, it languished untouched until 2014, when the township sought to void the redevelopment agreement with M&M Realty Partners. Previous coverage: Sportsplex Coming To Brick Foodtown Site At Last

M&M initially proposed a hotel at the site, but changed to a proposal for residential units, a move the township ardently opposed before attempting to void the agreement.

That led to legal wrangling until early 2017, when township officials and M&M reached a settlement. The plan to turn it into a sports complex and retail site was announced soon after. It received approval from the state Department of Transportation in September 2017, and the Brick Township Planning Board approved the site plan in May 2019.

Mayor John G. Ducey said some of the partners from that original agreement formed the new LLC.

Council also introduced an ordinance Tuesday to restrict beach drivingat the request of the federal government. Read more: Beach Buggy Access Ordinance Back On Brick Council Agenda