Developer Proposes 141 Unit Apartment Complex, Shopping Center in Toms River

The site of a proposed 141 unit apartment complex in Toms River. (Credit: Google Maps)

A developer has submitted plans to Toms River officials, seeking permission to build a nine-building, 141 unit apartment complex, plus about 32,000 square feet of additional retail space along Route 9.

The development is proposed for 1580 Lakewood Road (Route 9), near the highway’s intersection with Sunset Avenue. Approximately 11 acres of the easterly portion of the 34.5 acre parcel is currently developed with a commercial shopping center consisting of seven buildings, totaling 91,239 square feet of various commercial and retail uses and a child care center, the developer, 1606 Lakewood Road, LLC, stated in its application to the township’s planning board.

The developers is seeking to consolidate the lots into one parcel and construct a new 32,200 square foot commercial building in the northeast portion of the site and a 141 unit residential apartment complex, consisting of nine buildings, plus recreation facilities in the western portion of the site. Of the 141 units, 28 will be designated “affordable” for low and moderate income residents. The development is included in the township’s affordable housing plan, required by court order.

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Both the residential and commercial development would be accessed by a new, private driveway from Lakewood Road, and the new commercial development will “operate in conjunction with the existing commercial uses to create one overall shopping center.”

The developer is seeking numerous variances for the project, including permission to be out of compliance with the township’s ordinance regulating the width of internal driveways, as well as several setbacks.

No development is proposed for a portion of the site which is currently zoned residential, the application states.

The planning board is scheduled to hear the application at its July 5 meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at the municipal complex on Washington Street.