Pier Village receives extension for 3rd phase Plans for oceanfront project expected to be complete by July BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - The developer of Pier Village phase three was granted additional time by the City Council to submit plans for the oceanfront private redevelopment project. The City Council voted 4-0 at the Dec. 8 council meeting to grant developer Pier Village Applied LWAG LLC another six months to finalize plans for the third phase of the Pier Village project. According to resolution 25-08, the developer will have until July 21 to complete the plans. City Business Administrator Howard H. Woolley could grant another six-month extension, if needed, which would extend the deadline to Jan. 21, 2009, according to the resolution. "The third phase [of Pier Village] is in the planning stage and it involves multitypes of uses, including a hotel," City Attorney James Aaron said at the Dec. 8 workshop meeting held prior to the council meeting. "Finding a hotel operator has taken longer than we thought. Everyone is moving forward with the project in good faith, and rather than put something together in a rush, we decided to just extend the time. "This is not to delay the project," he added. City resident Denise Hoagland of Ocean Terrace questioned council during the public portion of the municipal meeting as to what is holding up the project. "Why is it being extended?" Hoagland asked. "There is no lawsuit holding it up?" Aaron replied, "No." "The development includes a hotel, which is going to be less expensive than the Ocean Place Resort and Hotel," Aaron said. "The concept is taking longer." According to Aaron, Pier Village LWAG and the city's redevelopment team are still discussing what kind of hotel should be included in the plan. Aaron explained that plans call for a moderately priced hotel to be constructed, but whether it will be a hotel or a condohotel is still up in the air. The developer had already received a 90-day extension by council in September to submit plans by Jan. 21. The city's redevelopment team deemed it necessary to grant another extension to give Pier Village Applied LWAG more time to develop a fully implemented site plan, according to the resolution. In addition to Woolley, the city's redevelopment team is comprised of the following members: Carl Turner, assistant director of planning and zoning; Kevin Hayes Sr., director of building and development; Jeffrey Nadell, aide to the mayor; Pratap Talwar, the planner for the city, and Ralph Basile, financial consultant to the city. The third phase of Pier Village is bordered by Morris Avenue and Melrose Terrace, located between Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. Preliminary plans for the third phase call for a mixture of apartment and condominium units, retail shopping along the beach and a hotel. Applied has already constructed an estimated $100 million mixed-use project in the first phase of the Pier Village redevelopment zone, which is located on a 10- acre tract from Laird Street to Melrose Terrace. The second phase of the project, which is being constructed now, will include the construction of approximately 240 residential units, retail stores and almost 200 parking spaces along Ocean Boulevard. Pier Village was granted a tax abatement by the city for the first and second phases of the oceanfront project. The abatement for the first two phases of the Pier Village redevelopment project calls for the real estate taxes to be phased in over a five-year period. In the first full tax year after completion of the project, the developer will pay full taxes on the land and will not be required to pay any taxes on improvements or buildings constructed at the site. Starting in the second year, 20 percent of the taxes will be paid by the developer. Taxes will then continue to be phased in at 20 percent increments until the developer pays 100 percent of the taxes on the project in the sixth tax year. Aaron said it has not been determined whether an abatement will be granted to the developer for phase three of the project.