Holmdel Nokia Site Owner Faults 'Redevelopment' Recommendation

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Planning Board's recommendation to designate the Nokia office site on Holmdel Road as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment is being termed a "rush to judgment" by the owner, who also suggested the action has "legal implications."

The board's majority vote came late in the evening Tuesday after the township's planner presented her recommendation, based on a study of the area. (You can see the full report here.)

The board also heard testimony from the owner's architect and planner, arguing that the building is not "blighted."

And a small number of members of the public commented on the matter, too. The meeting ran over three hours.

The recommendation by the board will be forwarded to the Township Committee, which can either accept or reject it.

Crawford Hill Holdings owns the office building on Lot 7 as well as two adjacent lots that the township already is negotiating to acquire through eminent domain. The company hoped to build a townhouse development there.

The parcels make up not only the highest point in Monmouth County - Crawford Hill - but also the site of the historic Horn antenna. The antenna is a National Historic Landmark because of its use in confirming the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe.

These factors and others, including environmental protection, have led the township to determine it must protect those two lots as open space and as having historical significance.

But the third lot was the one that was under discussion Tuesday - the site of what was once a Nokia office facility in a zone limited to laboratory research facilities.

Rakesh Antala of Holmdel, principal of the company, did not speak at the meeting, as was indicated he might at the beginning.

But he did provide a written statement on Wednesday:

“It is clear from (Tuesday's) Planning Board meeting and consideration of whether the Crawford Hill property is truly an area in need of redevelopment that the township is rushing to judgment without considering all the facts," he said.

He encouraged the public to view the video of the meeting and "decide for themselves why this condemnation is being rushed," he said. (You can see the meeting on the township Facebook site by clicking this link.)

"How can a government body condemn a building based simply on the fact that it has been vacant — due to pending discussions between the town and Crawford Hill Holdings," he asked in the statement.

He said the board's “in-need-of-redevelopment” recommendation to the Township Committee has "legal implications that may cost taxpayers millions of dollars. This fact is being ignored by the board and the Township Committee. The town seems intent on rushing to take our private property without good reason,” he said.

The site in question Tuesday was Block 27, Lot 7, the former Nokia Crawford Hill Facility.

The meeting opened with a presentation by the township's professional planner Kate Keller regarding the site's qualification as a “condemnation area in need of redevelopment,” as defined under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.

Within a 29-page report, she cited some basic concerns: vandalism and police reports of nuisance crimes; obsolete amenities in the offices and a need for extensive retrofitting, among other criteria, such as a change in the market for such offices.

But the owners' experts noted that the property is not a detriment to the community, has no outstanding violations, is secured and has paid its property taxes. Antala's attorney said the site is assessed for tax purposes at $3.2 million.

They said there have been clients interested in buying the site (including TV Asia which was filming the proceedings for the owner), but they were discouraged from going forward because of the town's actions to preserve the Horn antenna area.

The Township Committee on Aug. 22 voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance authorizing the acquisition by eminent domain of the 34.3-acre Crawford Hill property, the site of the Horn antenna, also owned by Crawford Hill Holdings. The township has been in the good faith negotiation stage with the owners.

The owners have discussed plans for an 88-unit, age-restricted townhouse development there.

That area to be acquired by Holmdel includes Lots 6, 6.01 and part of Lot 7 for a partial easement on Block 27 - 34.3 acres - to be used for open space, recreation and historic preservation purposes under the township's Master Plan.

Members of the public, including Ralph Blumenthal of Friends of Holmdel Open Space, who was in attendance Tuesday, have applauded that action.

As for Lot 7, in a summary comment at the end of the meeting, he urged: "Let's keep it one cohesive site."

The Nokia site, combined with Lots 6 and 6.01, make up a total of 43 acres on Crawford Hill owned by Crawford Hill Holdings.