Map showing property at 2416 (Old) Hooper Avenue, Brick, NJ (Credit: Google Earth)
The Brick Township City Council has finalized approval for the purchase of a parcel of land off (formerly) Hooper Avenue that was slated to be developed into a six-unit residential subdivision.
The City Council voted unanimously last week to purchase the property at 2416 Hooper Ave., a 4.25-acre property located roughly behind Drum Point Elementary School and its adjacent sports complex. To the east of the same site is a large 285-acre preserve commonly known as the “Airport District” that once housed a small airport. The entire site is north of Lighthouse Court.
Map showing property at 2416 (Old) Hooper Avenue, Brick, NJ (Credit: Google Earth)
Last month, the City Council introduced a bond ordinance that would allow the town to borrow $883,500 toward the $930,000 purchase. Since then, news broke that the acquisition cost would be supported by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program.
“The town is advising the NJDEP Green Acres Program on the acquisition and expects to receive funds to reimburse the cost of the acquisition,” Mayor Lisa Crate said.
The total amount of state subsidies for the purchase will be determined at a later date.
The property was put on the market for $1 million in January and taken off the market in May, according to real estate records. County property records show numerous settlement notices between owner Richard Osborne and the township dating back to March and updated in August. The sale itself has not yet taken place.
County records show a company known as Hooper Avenue Development LLC received a development permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection allowing it to build six single-family homes while still in the hands of the previous owner. It is also shown that they succeeded in retrieving the data and reconstructed the access drive. A public road, three bioretention ponds, and a network of underground pipes and utilities. Because the facility is located within a storm surge hazard area, a state permit was required. State permits were approved in 2022, but the project never received site plan approval before planning and zoning boards were created in Brick. This parcel is within the Rural Residential (RR2) zone.
