Planners Greenlight Proposal For 600-Plus Apartments At Mall

The addition of more than 600 modern-style apartments at the Oxford Valley Mall property was approved 4-0 by the Middletown Township Planning Commission in a Wednesday evening meeting.

The plan still needs preliminary and final land development approval by the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors before becoming a reality. 

The significant redevelopment of mall property is expected to have a large economic impact for the area and also represents a major move by Simon Property Group, the mall’s owners. Despite the shocks created by the coronavirus pandemic and changes in the economy, the proposal for 614 apartments at the site in the area of the Boscov’s store continues to be an important project at the mall site. 

The overview presented to planners showed 614 units to be spread between two large, three-to-four-story buildings that would include common areas for residents, fitness centers, office space, and green spaces.

The project is only slightly adjusted from plans revealed to the public last year, said Dave Della Porta, a co-owner of developer Cornerstone Tracy. 

Della Porta said the developer still needs to get final state permits, but he was in agreement with all comments made in a July 29 review letter from the township.

“We’re building about a mile of new sidewalks … you will note the green space meant to be public between the residential areas and the mall. It’s intended to be a first-class apartment community,” he stated.

The meeting, which took place over Zoom, saw no public comment from the audience. According to planners, no members of the public had requested a link for the meeting.

Previously, residents have raised concerns about traffic that would come with adding more than 600 apartments. The developers have said the mall is designed to have a massive amount of traffic and is designed to handle the vehicles.

The plans presented Wednesday called for building two parking garages and some street-level parking.

Della Porta said the Fourth Street road continuation to the mall property would have to be shut down during construction, potentially creating a traffic issue for some residents.

Issac Kessler, the township engineer who works at Remington and Vernick Engineers, said he appreciated the way the applicants worked to address all the township’s suggestions, adding that their goals were in line with the comprehensive plan for Middletown Township’s future.

The proposed redevelopment is broken into two phases. The first phase would take down much of the Boscov’s building and replace it with roadway, common space, and room for potential future retail development and 391 apartments and a parking garage. The second phase would take place at the neighboring parking lot closer to the food court entrance and construct and additional 223 apartments and a second parking garage.

Developers have previously pitched the plan as creating a modern, more appealing look for that portion of the mall property. Due to the Boscov’s closing years ago, that section of the mall and its parking lot have been vacant.

The Oxford Valley Mall was closed between March 15 and June 26 and has since reopened for in-person shopping and curbside pickup available at select stores. For years, the mall has been losing stores but still remained viable. 

Last August, LevittownNow.com exclusively reported that Simon Property Group had been eyeing redeveloping the 1,336,000-square-foot aging mall to better fit modern business and shopping climate.

Last year, Scott Richardson, vice president of development at Simon Property Group, referred to the proposed apartment development “exciting” for the mall property. He also said it would create an “exciting opportunity” to reuse an empty portion of the property while pushing forward potential future additional mixed-use development at the mall.

If the apartment plan moves forward, the township could see an additional $220,000 in property tax revenue and $1 million in school taxes.

The mall has become a local landmark and important business for the area. The 190-acre mall property Oxford Valley Mall property was developed from farmland and a sod airfield in 1973. The mall underwent a large upgrade in 1998. The mall features just under 150 stores of varying sizes and is next to the 115,000-square-foot, eight-story One Oxford Valley office building.

Report a correction via email | Editorial standards and policies