Controversial Video Unveiled On Bridgewater's Rt. 202/206 Project

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — It was yet again another very long and heated meeting surrounding the Center of Excellence project set for the now-vacant 100-plus acre Sanofi-Aventis property on Route 202/206. A vote was not made and the planning board will continue hearings on the project tonight and then onto Nov. 12. A final vote will most likely not happen until the Nov. 12 meeting, the planning board said at last night's meeting.

The rescheduling of the meeting to Tuesday was a touchy subject as Councilman Howard Norgalis pointed out that the township has never held back to back meetings before.

"I am not sure what the intentions are if they are to offer information or to wear out the public so they don't come back tomorrow," Norgalis said.

The packed room clapped in response to Norgalis' statement. Most of the public has been continuously showing up at the meetings waiting for their chance to voice their opinion on the entire project before the planning board makes a final vote.

The Tuesday meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Courtroom at 100 Commons Way in Bridgewater.

The Monday night meeting was three and a half hours long and included testimony from the applicant's (CIP II/AR Bridgewater Holdings LLC) parking expert and a materials expert on the project followed by questioning from the public. It took about an hour and a half just for one witness to finish being questioned.

Questioning from the public to the expert testifying about the materials being used on the project was cut off due to the time of night. Residents will be able to continue to question the expert at Tuesday night's meeting.

A controversial marketing video released by Advanced Realty on preservingbridgewater.com was also brought to light at Monday's meeting as the website from which it was released was similar to the name of a group of concerned residents, called Preserve Bridgewater, who are opposed to the project.

The video shows the proposed project and what resident's can expect to see when it is completed.

"Don't you feel that website your video is posted on preservingbridewater.com is misleading to the public? Because the opposing group PreserveBridgewater.com has a very similar URL?" one resident said at the meeting.

The applicant did not respond to the question.

Watch the Advance Realty video in question below:

Following Tuesday's meeting, the board is expecting testimony to once again spill over onto Nov. 12 where the township will have an environmental consultant speak on the issues on Benzene on the property. The consultant was hired by the township to look into the chemical issues, Norgalis said.

The front portion or the retail and commercial zone near Route 202/206 is projected to encompass plans of building a hotel, supermarket, fitness/wellness center, restaurants with outdoor dining, around 400 luxury apartment units and boutiques. This has been called one of the largest developments in township's history since the Bridgewater Commons mall.

The back portion is set as a research and development zone that includes businesses such as Nestle.

If you missed the meeting you can watch it in its entirety below. The video is split in two portions:

• See Related: Largest Development in Bridgewater's History Proposed
• Related: Bridgewater Approves Plan For Possibly Largest Redevelopment Plan in Township's History
• Related: Bridgewater Officials Argue Over Center Of Excellence Project

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