Applicant wants to build 108-room hotel, 24 apartments next to Cedar Square Shopping Center
SEAVILLE — The Upper Township Zoning Board tabled an application for multiple variances to build a combination hotel/apartment complex next to Cedar Square Shopping Center in Seaville.
“We have a couple of things to iron out but it should be on the agenda for next month,” the applicant’s lawyer Kris Facenda said Feb. 2.
Applicant John Federico requested a use variance and multiple bulk variances, along with preliminary and final major site plan approval, to build a 108-room hotel and 24 apartments on Block 560, lots 2 and 3, otherwise known as 2069-2071 Route 9 South.
The wooded property, which is irregularly shaped but just short of 250 feet wide by an average of 1,581 feet deep, stretches from Route 9 to the Garden State Parkway, close to the southbound junction and Route 50.
If completely built, the complex would include two 12-unit apartment buildings, two 24-room hotel buildings and a 60-room hotel building. The proposed buildings would be 185 feet by 65 feet for the 60-unit main hotel and 120 feet by 45 feet for the smaller hotel and apartment buildings.
There plan calls for 170 parking spots spread throughout the complex, as well as a drainage basin and other improvements.
A use variance was required for a dual residential/commercial development. According to the variance and waiver justification report, the property is in the Town Center Core Zone, where the “intent is to promote a desirable mix of commercial and residential land uses within a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly village environment.”
Bulk variances were required for minimum lot width, minimum lot frontage, maximum height, landscape buffer and a parking deficiency.
The front setback would be 91 feet, with 896 feet in the rear and 26 feet on each side and a maximum height of 49.5 feet.
The variances for lot frontage and lot width are minimal, with about 248.5 feet where 250 is required. However, the proposed maximum height of 49.5 feet is a full 10 percent larger than the 45 feet permitted.
Additionally, a 5-foot landscape buffer was proposed where 15 feet is the minimum required.
One of the main justifications for approval is that the project’s location is appropriate for the use.
“There can be no argument that this is an ideal location for both hotel and apartment unit uses,” the report states. “This project would encourage commercial uses and residential dwelling, enhance pedestrian shopping and ensure design compatibility with existing development.”
According to the engineer’s report, Federico plans to complete the project in two phases. Phase 1 would involve construction of the apartment buildings, 48 parking spaces, three drainage basins and a septic system located near the rear of the property. The second phase would consist of the hotel buildings and 122 parking spaces.
Federico of Miami Shores, Fla., operating as Fair Investment Partnership, was seeking final approval for phase 1 and preliminary approval for phase 2.
Regarding the parking deficiency, 170 spots are proposed, 13 short of the number required. The plans call for only 10 spots outside each 12-unit apartment building and 19 adjacent to each 24-unit hotel, while the remaining spaces would be around the main building in the front.
The next Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 7 at Township Hall.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
