Friday on My Mind
On the surface, Holmdel has probably seen better Fridays than the one that played out last week. In a hard fought contest, the Holmdel Hornets lost its semi-final match up with Rumson-Fair Haven, and earlier in the day, a spokesperson with Alcatel-Lucent confirmed that Preferred Real Estate had failed to close on its deal to purchase the old Bell Labs site in town.
However, the Holmdel Hornets did offer some interesting lessons for all of us to ponder. They had a magical season. No one would have predicted nine straight wins, but all the signs were in the place for success after the team's strong finish last year.
The Hornets reminded us that with planning, execution, and the right group of people great things can happen. And Holmdel residents do rally around those things they care about. A chilly fall night did not deter one of the largest crowds in memory to descend upon Roggy Field to watch the contest.
Our town leaders should keep both lessons in mind, as we consider our next steps regarding the future of the Lucent site.
I always saw this month's Township Committee race as a referendum for the future of the Lucent property, and apparently, Preferred Real Estate agreed with me. The make-up of next year's Township Committee will not be favorable for the zoning change they want, and so they walked.
They never really cared about the needs of the town, just their own.
So, on one hand, it's a win for the community, since it eliminates one source of angst that has been hanging over our heads for two years now--the potential of unneeded residential development that would have dramatically impacted the character of the town while failing to contribute sufficiently to our tax base.
However, it's a pyrrhic victory at best. The town would have been best served if the sale had gone through and that the property had been redeveloped by Preferred in compliance with the existing zoning of the office/lab use. The property has always been a large commercial ratable for our town and a delay in redeveloping it will only impede needed tax relief.
The town should communicate with representatives of Alcatel/Lucent directly, to reiterate our desire to retain existing zoning on the Lucent tract, our interest to retain the existing Saarinen-designed structure if possible and our willingness to work with them as they seek a replacement buyer for the property. These steps will help us avoid a repeat of our experience with Preferrred. The Lucent Advisory Committee may serve as a perfect conduit for this task.
It's a brand new ball game, and as the Hornets showed us repeatedly, you can control your own destiny when you show up to play.
However, the Holmdel Hornets did offer some interesting lessons for all of us to ponder. They had a magical season. No one would have predicted nine straight wins, but all the signs were in the place for success after the team's strong finish last year.
The Hornets reminded us that with planning, execution, and the right group of people great things can happen. And Holmdel residents do rally around those things they care about. A chilly fall night did not deter one of the largest crowds in memory to descend upon Roggy Field to watch the contest.
Our town leaders should keep both lessons in mind, as we consider our next steps regarding the future of the Lucent site.
I always saw this month's Township Committee race as a referendum for the future of the Lucent property, and apparently, Preferred Real Estate agreed with me. The make-up of next year's Township Committee will not be favorable for the zoning change they want, and so they walked.
They never really cared about the needs of the town, just their own.
So, on one hand, it's a win for the community, since it eliminates one source of angst that has been hanging over our heads for two years now--the potential of unneeded residential development that would have dramatically impacted the character of the town while failing to contribute sufficiently to our tax base.
However, it's a pyrrhic victory at best. The town would have been best served if the sale had gone through and that the property had been redeveloped by Preferred in compliance with the existing zoning of the office/lab use. The property has always been a large commercial ratable for our town and a delay in redeveloping it will only impede needed tax relief.
The town should communicate with representatives of Alcatel/Lucent directly, to reiterate our desire to retain existing zoning on the Lucent tract, our interest to retain the existing Saarinen-designed structure if possible and our willingness to work with them as they seek a replacement buyer for the property. These steps will help us avoid a repeat of our experience with Preferrred. The Lucent Advisory Committee may serve as a perfect conduit for this task.
It's a brand new ball game, and as the Hornets showed us repeatedly, you can control your own destiny when you show up to play.
posted by msockol at 4:04 PM
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