A new four-story hotel has been approved for the former Toys R Us site in Middletown.
The 94 to 98 room hotel, which will be affiliated with Hilton’s Tru brand, received approval from the Middletown Zoning Hearing Board for several variances and to allow a hotel in the OC Office Campus District, which currently does not allow for a hotel use.
Advertisements
Ed Murphy, the attorney representing the property owner, said the Toys R Us property’s OC Office Campus District zoning is unusual because it only appears at one other site in the township, noting the Toys R Us property did not house an office complex. He added that surrounding commercial lots that have had similar use are not zoned OC Office Campus District.
The hotel, according to designs reviewed by LevittownNow.com, is planned for the area currently occupied by the parking lot of the 5-acre Toys R Us site.
Work on the Auto Wash car wash inside the roughly 40,000-square-foot closed Toys R Us in underway and should be completed in the coming months. Property owner Christopher Vernon of Mercer Management said the car wash is based on a German concept and will reuse 90 percent of its water along with biodegradable soaps
Advertisements
The Tru hotel, which is also being developed by Vernon, will be separate from the car wash but will be on the same property.
Vernon’s New Jersey-based company has opened similar hotel and car wash concepts in the Garden State.
Advertisements
While the car wash is already under construction, the hotel would still need to go through the township’s full land development process.
The variances approved dealt with 66-foot front yard setback for the hotel where the ordinance requires a 100-foot minimum, a 40 percent floor ration where the ordinance requires a 28 percent maximum, and one relating to outside areas used for storage.
The hotel is planned for the busy West Lincoln Highway strip that is near the Oxford Valley Mall and always-popular Sesame Place.
Advertisements
Hilton describes the fast-growing Tru brand as one that is “vibrant, affordable and young-at-heart.” Each location features a large lobby with a round-the-clock market for guests.
Middletown residents Jim Bayer and Mike Fehrle spoke before the Zoning Hearing Board and both raised concerns about adding a hotel and the impact it may have on area traffic.
Advertisements
The Middletown Toys R Us store closed in summer as the company liquidated after failing to find a buyer.
