Board approves 270,000 s/f retail site at NJ development.

The site plan for the 269,000 s/f retail component of Stafford Park, the mixed-use New Jersey redevelopment to be built on the site of the current Stafford Business Park, has been approved by Stafford Township.

The approval was announced by Joseph Del Duca, a partner of the Walters Group, the prominent Barnegat residential and commercial real estate firm.

Closure of the landfill on the property, which is the first phase of the redevelopment, is scheduled to begin in December, with traffic improvements to be underway in January. A major national discount department store is expected to be the main anchor of the retail component, which is to consist of three anchor stores, eight mid-sized retail tenants and a dozen boutiques and restaurants, according to Del Duca.

"We have had a tremendous amount of interest and letters of intent from a wide variety of national retailers," said Del Duca. "We expect to reach a number of agreements now that the site plan has been approved and retailers can finalize their plans."

In addition to the retail component, Stafford Park will consist of 565 age-restricted homes, 112 affordable apartments, a recreation component that will include a 66,000 s/f twin ice skating rink and 25,000 s/f space. The redevelopment will also have a village center with a Main Street with an added 70,000 s/f of retail and restaurants.

"The Main Street retail area will have many of the characteristics of the lifestyle centers that are so popular today," said Del Duca. "We will have upscale regional and national boutiques and restaurants that are easily accessible to residents of our community and to visitors." The Stafford Park planning board also gave preliminary approval to the Walters Group's general development plan for the project, with final approval expected in early October.

The Walters Group was named the designated redeveloper of Stafford Park in 2004. More than two years later, on July 14, 2006, the company's plans for the redevelopment and for the landfill closure that will make it possible, were approved by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission. The approval followed a lengthy review process that also involved the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The 361-acre site is located in Ocean County's Stafford Township just south of Route 72, at Exit 63 of the Garden State Parkway. It is situated within a Pinelands Regional Growth Area, bordered by the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area on its southerly and westerly sides.