Woodbridge Center mall has been sold. What does the new owner have planned?

WOODBRIDGE – Woodbridge Center has been sold and negotiations are ongoing with the buyer who plans to keep the mall as a shopping, dining and entertainment destination, Mayor John McCormac announced in his State of the Township address.

Although other changes are expected, McCormac said he's prohibited from disclosing any other facts about the transaction until the sale is finalized, including the buyer's identity.

McCormac delivered the address Friday to the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Woodbridge Economic Development Corporation, the Central New Jersey corporate business community and township residents.

"The Lord & Taylor store, which like Macy’s is separately owned from the mall owner, is closing in on a sale of that building which will also provide a spark to the new mall owners with people working in high-end jobs on site to shop and dine on a daily basis," said McCormac, adding he cannot say any more about those plans either.

Woodbridge Center, like major malls across the country, has struggled with the rise of online shopping. McCormac said the mall has done an admirable job of diversifying outside of retail by attracting new tenants, but it was not enough which led to the mall recently being listed for sale and resulted in many prospective buyers.

"We made crystal clear however to the Center’s realtors that we would not accept any housing or warehouse components no matter who purchased the property," McCormac said.

Changes also are coming to the MetroPark train station which was targeted for development by the state and NJ Transit because of its strategic location and status as the second largest train station in New Jersey, McCormac said.

"Like with the mall, a competitive process was initiated and controlled by NJ Transit to identify potential redevelopers and Russo Development was selected. We are very familiar and pleased with them based on their highly successful Vermella project on upper Main Street," McCormac said.

"A major complex with 250,000 square feet of office space was recently approved with plenty of parking plus retail and restaurant amenities and local traffic improvements," McCormac said, adding he again was prohibited from discussing any of the future tenants.

Waterfront and school improvements

McCormac said the marina project is fully underway on land the township owned for years on Cliff Road in the Sewaren section and additional land purchased over the last few years.

"We have already replaced bulkheads and cleared the land for development of a tiki bar with a capacity of over 200 along with a large grove with rotating food trucks and places to sit and eat," the mayor said. "There will be 77 boat slips, ample parking, walking trails, a new dog park for large dogs and another for small ones, a boat storage area and a bridge to connect our land to Alvin P. Williams Park paid for by Middlesex County and an extension to our Sewaren Riverwalk with grant money."

More: Vacant buildings in Woodbridge targeted for redevelopment. Here's what's planned

McCormac said for Sewaren residents the project is a great improvement over an area that was dilapidated, contaminated and detrimental to property values.

The mayor said the township is in the process of preparing another referendum to provide funding for a new School No. 10 in the Hopelawn section, to serve students in both Hopelawn and the Keasbey section.

"The former School No. 10 closed over 30 years ago and many students from those areas are bussed for over 30 minutes each way to get to schools in Port Reading, Fords and Menlo Park Terrace. That is simply unacceptable," McCormac said.

According to the mayor, the future of that school depends on the state Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Protection because the land is protected by Green Acres regulations, though the township will be providing double the amount of protected open space elsewhere.

McCormac said the referendum also will include many other items which are still being worked on to benefit all 24 schools in the district.

More restaurants coming to Main Street

An office building at 73 Main St. is under construction to become Mexology – a high-end Mexican restaurant – and when that is done, work to convert the Main Tavern into Lenihan’s Irish Pub will begin, McCormac announced.

"Another new upscale restaurant featuring contemporary American food – Violette’s Cellar – will copy its widely successful Staten Island location right across from Town Hall in the bottom floor of the Modera project. Still another successful Staten Island restaurant – Angelina’s Kitchen – is already under construction on upper Main Street next to the Vermella apartment complex and at least two more restaurants are on the drawing board," McCormac said. "Angelina’s and Violette’s are terrific restaurants that will join Castello’s and Strickland’s to make Main Street a destination for fine dining."

A health care complex continues to be eyed for land on Rahway Avenue in the Avenel section. Anticipated is a three-story 120,000-square-foot building with cardiology, oncology offices and an urgent care center.

Other Woodbridge projects

Other upcoming projects include the Cloverleaf project on the corner of Routes 1 and 35, the former site of a Pier One Imports, where a national supermarket chain, Sprouts and a Skechers store will serve as anchor tenants.

McCormac said if a new traffic light on Route 35 is approved, it will ease access to the new stores, the office building next door and the strip mall and apartments across the street.

McCormac said the state has approved another recreational marijuana store at the site of the adult bookstore on Route 1 southbound that will soon close.

"We wanted only one cannabis shop which was grandfathered by the state at the medical marijuana store across Route 1, but the trade was too good to pass up. The township already collects over $600,000 in taxes annually from just one facility," he said.

The mayor announced there are also new warehouse projects proposed behind the Keasbey Firehouse, on the Buckeye site on the Perth Amboy border and on Pennval Road in Sewaren, and a Cambria Hotel is set to replace what is left of the Star and City Motels and the abandoned bar in front of them on Route 1 southbound in Avenel. A self-storage facility is set to replace the Woodbridge Bowling Center.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Woodbridge Center mall has been sold. What's coming?