The Haddonfield Borough Hall second-floor meeting room held a scattering of about two dozen residents who stood to applaud commissioners after the conclusion of their meeting where they revealed an agreement of purchase for the Bancroft property from Recovery Centers of America CEO and developer J. Brian O’Neill.
The approvals made last week were for the potential purchase of the 19.22-acre Bancroft property for $12.9 million and the redevelopment of the site for future public and private uses. The commissioners also accepted a recommendation from the Planning Board to declare the property an area in need of redevelopment. All were passed unanimously.
“After many months of discussions and negotiations, I’m extremely pleased we finally reached an agreement and that the future of the Bancroft property will have a better definition … Once we pass a redevelopment plan, we’ll be in a very strong position to determine the future use of this piece of land,” Mayor Jeff Kasko said.
“I strongly support this plan. With negotiations, you don’t always get what you want, but I feel this is a very, very good deal for Haddonfield, and I think it moves us forward in a good way that is positive … and I’m very happy and hopeful that this will go smoothly … and the community will support us in moving forward on this plan,” Commissioner Neal Rochford said.
Last spring, O’Neill announced his intent to purchase the Bancroft property and put in a drug and alcohol treatment facility. This sparked a major controversy across town, as many residents felt the facility was too close to two of the borough’s public schools. A group called Haddonfield Citizens Group was formed in opposition to it and to support the borough’s purchase of the property.
It seemed those citizens’ wishes came true through the approvals made last week.
The agreement between the borough and 2 Hopkins Lane, LLC, O’Neill’s buying company, has the sale price set to $12.9 million, split between Bancroft at $11.5 million — the same price O’Neill offered, according to Kasko — and O’Neill’s company at $1.4 million. The closing date is June 30.
Borough Solicitor Mario Iavicoli revealed that O’Neill had asked for as much as $14.5 million for the property, but the commissioners wouldn’t budge beyond $12.9 million. The $12.9 million isn’t far off from the number set by the Haddonfield Board of Education in 2013, before residents voted it down.
The agreement will also provide an option for 2 Hopkins Lane, LLC to buy back 8.2 acres for $5.5 million to develop age-targeted townhomes, pursuant to an adopted redevelopment plan. The developer also has an opt-out to not buy the acres, with the borough paying an additional $600,000, covering O’Neill’s costs from the rehab center proposal. The price per acre O’Neill would pay is the same price per acre as the borough paid.
Additionally, the agreement requires the borough to exercise its best efforts to adopt a tax-neutral redevelopment plan consistent with a concept plan that includes 70 market-rate, age-targeted townhomes and 10 affordable units contained within the townhome development.
Also, there will be the development of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes program between the townhome developer and the borough that will generate sufficient revenue to cover the borough’s bond payments and ensure a public purchase, after applying available grant funds, will not result in a property tax increase for residents.
Kasko said he hopes the remaining 11.7 acres will be used for some sort of public use.
Bancroft will continue its offerings at the Haddonfield site until it is ready to move, paying lease payments of $150,000 per year for the first two years and higher amounts up to $300,000 per year after two years.
The approval of the redevelopment designation by commissioners will allow the borough to hire a planner and have them draft a plan for the redevelopment of the property. The plan will designate what is to be done on the property. When the planner presents their ideas to the Planning Board, public input will be taken into consideration. It is anticipated the plans will be prepared within the next two months, according to Kasko.
“People will be able to come before the Planning Board and bring up any problems or thoughts that they have … The Planning Board’s past practice shows that they do listen to public input pretty healthily,” Commissioner John Moscatelli said.
Due to the redevelopment law on the project, Kasko said there would not be a need for a public referendum.
Former mayors, former commissioners, HCG members and residents all commended the commissioners for their hard work on acquiring the property and making it a tax neutral site.
Commissioners thanked residents for their patience, the borough professionals involved for their assistance, and O’Neill and his attorneys for their negotiations and the agreement.
“I’d just like to thank everyone involved in the negotiations for their hard work because it was quite the slog, and I’d like to thank the public for their patience,” Moscatelli said.
“I would like to thank Haddonfield’s leaders for negotiating in good faith and reaching an agreement. I believe this is a win for all involved — for Haddonfield’s residents, for Bancroft and for RCA. I am glad we could work this out,” O’Neill said in a release provided by the borough.
For further details, copies of the letters of agreement authorized by the Board of Commissioners are available in the clerk’s office in Borough Hall and can be viewed online at www.haddonfieldnj.org.
