Millennial-centric development

[Korbermeister]

So construction of Luxury Point in Sayreville is ramping up and is being advertised as for the lifestyle of millennials. What impact if any, will this have on investment in NB? And does this development appeal as a residence to any of the millennials who comment here?

Luxury Point in Sayreville

 

[Upstream]

Sounds like every other suburban mixed-use development with a mall and adjacent condos. I guess this is a little different, since it has an enclosed mall, and not just the standard strip/big-box mall.

"a sprawling mall that's geared toward millennials, which means integrating 3-D digital imaging, allowing shoppers to interact with the space using their smartphones and having restaurants instead of food courts."

OK. BFD.

 

[PeteGiam07]

Any mass transit plans associated with this?

 

[Jonny S]

Luxury Point will be a miserable failure. This is pathetic scrambling, like trying to make Xanadu a casino.

 

[HPNJRUfan]

Agree with both Upstream and Jonny on this. Obviously any "competition" to NB isn't a good thing, but I can't imagine this development making an impact.

Pete,
Not as far as I know - beyond perhaps rerouting bus routes in the future or something simple of that sort.

 

[Leonard23]

People want to live under/near 24 lanes of traffic? I wouldn't even shop there let alone live.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

This post was edited on 3/15 3:17 PM by Leonard23

 

[BoroKnight]

Maybe it's just me, but doesn't the project referenced at the very end of the story in South Amboy sound more appealing? (And that's even including the words "South Amboy" -- hey, I was born there, I can say that)

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by Jonny S:
Luxury Point will be a miserable failure. This is pathetic scrambling, like trying to make Xanadu a casino.

Actually - I think Xanadu would be the perfect place for a casino. The casino at the megamall here outside of Baltimore - Maryland Live! which is at Arundel Mills Mall, does very well.

 

[NotInRHouse]

The article mentions a train but the S Amboy train is at least a mile away.

Also "beachfront" please you can practically smell Staten Island from there.

This and Xanadu are so stupid, you have so many downtowns with trains and buses just waiting and we get two malls at overtrafficked junctions.

Also malls are in decline outside of wealthy areas.

Could there be a place that screams more blue collar Rust belt in NJ than Sayreville and S Amboy? Maybe Bayonne but who would want to build there, way too many city views and too much public transport!

 

[lawmatt78]

Originally posted by Korbermeister:
So construction of Luxury Point in Sayreville is ramping up and is being advertised as for the lifestyle of millennials. What impact if any, will this have on investment in NB? And does this development appeal as a residence to any of the millennials who comment here?

I can't speak for millennials, but this certainly doesn't excite me. It' looks like typical suburban development - just compressed together more than usual, in a questionable location.

What about this project will attract millennials? The fact that the mall has more LED lights than usual?

Do people want to live adjacent to a mega-mall or a superhighway?

 

[bob-loblaw]

I've been carefully watching this project for 2 years now.

I don't think this will be a failure. Their plan is to build the outdoor retail component first followed by the mall & residential.

Having Bass Pro signed on is something that is unrivaled locally. Especially considering it' will be their 2nd largest store behind their hq in Missouri. You have them, and Century 21 signed on. While not as popular as bass pro, you have to go to Morristown or WTC to go to a C21.

While it's not my cup of tea, most anything new is always exciting to people as a residential locale. The access to the GSP is a major major positive, not sure why it's being downplayed here.

 

[HPNJRUfan]

Originally posted by bob-loblaw:
I've been carefully watching this project for 2 years now.

I don't think this will be a failure. Their plan is to build the outdoor retail component first followed by the mall & residential.

Having Bass Pro signed on is something that is unrivaled locally. Especially considering it' will be their 2nd largest store behind their hq in Missouri. You have them, and Century 21 signed on. While not as popular as bass pro, you have to go to Morristown or WTC to go to a C21.

While it's not my cup of tea, most anything new is always exciting to people as a residential locale. The access to the GSP is a major major positive, not sure why it's being downplayed here.

Perhaps I'm being a bit cynical but... Basically then, it sounds like the plan is to build a strip mall with some new stores that aren't yet in the area, with hopes to build an indoor mall and residential eventually. If they do actually build a rail line (light or heavy) to the property, that'll be out of the blue and a complete surprise. Until then, I just see that statement in the article as some fluff to help encourage interest in the development.

Add that to the fact that this is on probably one of the most contaminated properties in the State... Sorry, but I don't see this grand development as ending up as much more than a glorified strip mall.

 

[PeteGiam07]

I dont think a train station being 1 mile away is far. Its prob a 15 min walk for most people. That sounds pretty ideal to me.

Being close to a highway is attractive to any commuter. There are plenty out there.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[lawmatt78]

They might get some quality tenants, but there's nothing compelling to me about this site plan. This isn't even a faux town center - some of which aren't bad, all things considered. It's a mall, strip centers, parking lots, and condos. It's basically Paramus on the water.

However, it might work. Maybe this plan on this site is the right move. I don't know.

 

[Upstream]

Originally posted by PeteGiam07:
I dont think a train station being 1 mile away is far. Its prob a 15 min walk for most people. That sounds pretty ideal to me.

Being close to a highway is attractive to any commuter. There are plenty out there.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

It is 1.5 miles from the So Amboy train station to the Rt 9-25 circle. The residential development is at least 0.5 miles further. A 2 mile walk would take most people 30-40 minutes, which is longer than most people are willing to walk on a daily commute to catch a train. Plus you have to cross the Parkway and Routes 9-35, which will either be long underpasses or windy overpasses. And it is not a nice walk, even if they build a pathway along the riverfront.


The commuter aspect of this development is that you can drive to train stations, and it is close to the Parkway.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by PeteGiam07:
I dont think a train station being 1 mile away is far. Its prob a 15 min walk for most people. That sounds pretty ideal to me.

Being close to a highway is attractive to any commuter. There are plenty out there.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

It is 1.5 miles from the So Amboy train station to the Rt 9-25 circle. The residential development is at least 0.5 miles further. A 2 mile walk would take most people 30-40 minutes, which is longer than most people are willing to walk on a daily commute to catch a train. Plus you have to cross the Parkway and Routes 9-35, which will either be long underpasses or windy overpasses. And it is not a nice walk, even if they build a pathway along the riverfront.


The commuter aspect of this development is that you can drive to train stations, and it is close to the Parkway.

Which is in fact a big selling point. This isnt NYC. Lots of people taking trains are driving to those stations - in fact I would guess that most are in NJ.

But I agree - there doesnt seem to be anything about this which screams millennial to me. Basically a standard NJ apartment/condo complex on one of the less attractive water fronts in NJ, with sea of parking retail center AND a mall (do millennial really like the mall - seems to me they mostly want to shop online, not wander around yankee candle.)

Given that NJ desperately needs more housing (hence the high prices), especially relatively near transit and highway access, its a huge waste to go with a non-mixed use model. Retail on the bottom, offices/residences/hotel on top.

Huge opportunity down the drain.

 

[bob-loblaw]

Paramus+Times Square on the water is accurate. Don't forget all the LEDs.

Either way, I'd rather it be that than be another downtown competing with new brunswck, metuchen, red bank, westfield , etc.

Sadly, if the NB light rail were ever built and on the Sayreville running track, there could have been very easy access to this property. Getting a rail link now would be difficult unless they acquired all the right of way

 

[Upstream]

Originally posted by derleider:

Originally posted by Upstream:

Originally posted by PeteGiam07:
I dont think a train station being 1 mile away is far. Its prob a 15 min walk for most people. That sounds pretty ideal to me.

Being close to a highway is attractive to any commuter. There are plenty out there.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

It is 1.5 miles from the So Amboy train station to the Rt 9-25 circle. The residential development is at least 0.5 miles further. A 2 mile walk would take most people 30-40 minutes, which is longer than most people are willing to walk on a daily commute to catch a train. Plus you have to cross the Parkway and Routes 9-35, which will either be long underpasses or windy overpasses. And it is not a nice walk, even if they build a pathway along the riverfront.


The commuter aspect of this development is that you can drive to train stations, and it is close to the Parkway.

Which is in fact a big selling point. This isnt NYC. Lots of people taking trains are driving to those stations - in fact I would guess that most are in NJ.

But I agree - there doesnt seem to be anything about this which screams millennial to me. Basically a standard NJ apartment/condo complex on one of the less attractive water fronts in NJ, with sea of parking retail center AND a mall (do millennial really like the mall - seems to me they mostly want to shop online, not wander around yankee candle.)

Given that NJ desperately needs more housing (hence the high prices), especially relatively near transit and highway access, its a huge waste to go with a non-mixed use model. Retail on the bottom, offices/residences/hotel on top.

Huge opportunity down the drain.

But it is not a selling point, because it isn't unique. There are very few places in northeastern NJ, within 30 miles of Times Square, where you are more than 5 or 6 miles from a train station. Driving distance to a train station in northeastern NJ is as much of a selling point as claiming you have running water.

 

[retired711]

Cherry Hill has a recent development combining an outdoor mall and housing. The mall does well (it has Wegman's, a big draw). I've never heard anything to indicate the housing is all that hot.

 

[bob-loblaw]

I really sound like I'm defending this project and in reality I don't care. As long as bass pro opens I'm happy.

But to counter upstreams point, having that access, practically on top of the GSP is a big selling point to a lot of people. Especially with new construction, as the amount of opportunities like that available are marginal at best.

The reality is that you have houses that will be new, with access to a lot of new retail, seconds off the GSP, a few mins from the turnpike, 10 mins from Staten Island, a train station & ferry to the city. I know it's not a cool urban area, but there's a lot of shit talking a project that's going to be a pretty big deal.

 

[derleider]

Originally posted by bob-loblaw:
I really sound like I'm defending this project and in reality I don't care. As long as bass pro opens I'm happy.

But to counter upstreams point, having that access, practically on top of the GSP is a big selling point to a lot of people. Especially with new construction, as the amount of opportunities like that available are marginal at best.

The reality is that you have houses that will be new, with access to a lot of new retail, seconds off the GSP, a few mins from the turnpike, 10 mins from Staten Island, a train station & ferry to the city. I know it's not a cool urban area, but there's a lot of shit talking a project that's going to be a pretty big deal.

Yes - the point is - it could have been a bigger deal by not just being some houses, a strip mall, and a regular mall in one project. It could have been something to make Sayerville a nicer place to live, instead of just a place to sleep in between your commutes.

Lets put it this way. If they were just building the house, or the strip mall, or the regular mall, would it really be that exciting. Oooh - anothre mall/strip mall/set of garden apartments in NJ, thats nice.

But the real thing is - the place is advertising ITSELF as for millenials, when its clearly not any more attractive to millneials than any other development on that spot would be.
This post was edited on 3/17 2:40 PM by derleider

 

[Jonny S]

Bass Pro = Cabela's at Xanadu. They BUILT Xanadu (with taxpayer funds of course) and it's never, ever going to open. This one is still a pipe dream and it's built on a toxic waste dump.

 

[NotInRHouse]

As a millenial I don't really find Bass Pro Shop something I'm running there for.

I also don't think a 2 mile walk to the train is reasonable.

What's sad is that Sayreville and South Amboy (and Perth Amboy) have downtowns that have seen way better days that are in complete disrepair and no one is doing anything about that. The Amboys each have a train station as well, and water views near the train. After 9/11 they had a ferry to Manhattan, now they closed it. Why not put any effort into that?

Thats what would interest millenials. Go to any town where millenials are moving in NJ, the only one with a mall is Jersey City- and that mall has had some big changes as a result of the population shift.

 

[Leonard23]

Bass Pro Shops is the carrot to get Millenials? Yeah, I guess all the hunters, fishers & campers can't wait.
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