What's going there? Route 9 in Monmouth County sees a flood of new developments

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fter Lynn Eckel bought a franchise in a chain restaurant last July, she promptly opened her first location earlier this year in a seemingly obvious spot.

"Route 9 is the most heavily (traveled) road in this area," said Eckel, 50, whose restaurant filled a vacated space near Burlington Coat Factory in the Freehold Mall shopping plaza on the northbound side of the bustling corridor in Freehold Township.

Eckel opened New Jersey's first Tom+Chee — a Cincinnati-based franchise that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup — in the shopping plaza because she liked its accessibility, vast parking lot and close proximity to major commercial sectors with potentially hungry clientele, such as the many employees at CentraState Medical Center, just five minutes away.

Soon, a slew of new retailers will join the thousands of storefronts that already occupy coveted locations on Route 9 in Monmouth County. But in many cases, they will fill newly built spaces — from a freestanding car dealership coming to Freehold Township to a strip mall coming to Howell to a shopping plaza coming to Marlboro — as several commercial developments progress along that section of the buzzing roadway.

See a map of

new commercial development along Route 9 in Monmouth County.

"(Route 9) is situated in one of the wealthiest counties on the East Coast," said Robert O'Donnell, chairman and chief executive of New Jersey Community Bank, which lends to some of the roadway's businesses. "It has a population second to none for (what was) a small farming district 10 or 15 years ago, (compared) to what it is today."

In western Monmouth County, Route 9 enjoyed a growing population during the past 20 years, which attracted more businesses, mostly retailers. That same scenario will likely continue in the future as the area still offers room for residential growth, which represents a stark contrast to other densely populated communities along the roadway, such as Lakewood, he said.

"It's one of the major commuting arteries going to the Parkway, so everyone passes everything, so it makes sense that's a major center for commerce in the area," said Joseph Allegro, vice president of Sitar Realty and Insurance, a division of Sitar Realty Co., a Woodbridge-based commercial real estate brokerage and investment firm. "It just makes sense to sell to affluent people in affluent areas, and you don't want to go right next to where they live, you want to go where they're traveling."

WHAT'S GOING THERE? See a roundup of local construction stories

'Confidence booster'

The recent surge in commercial construction signals a willingness by businesses to take chances again as the commercial real estate market gains traction while the nation continues its often-shaky recovery from the Great Recession more than five years ago.

"Progress is a confidence booster for the average person," said Peter Reinhart, director of Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. "It makes them confident about their own situation. These are just more indicators that things are really improving."

Though some of the development remains speculative, the economy finally seems able to handle that type of growth.

"Typically, developers won't start construction unless they feel pretty confident that they're going to fill the space," Reinhart said. "It's very possible they're having conversations with potential tenants."

The growth particularly excites the area's municipal officials, who suggest taxes from the new businesses will alleviate some of the burden on residential taxpayers in Freehold Township, Howell and Marlboro.

"They're a huge break for the taxpayers," said Peter Valesi, administrator of Freehold Township, where Warren-based Yum and Chill Restaurant Group will shortly open an 11,251-square-foot Golden Corral for $3.9 million on Route 9 southbound and Edison-based Ray Catena Auto Group will build a 72,300-square-foot Audi dealership on Route 9 northbound for a cost it declined to reveal.

Also in Freehold Township, South Amboy-based DCH Auto Group will add a 7,500-square-foot expansion to its 60,000-square-foot DCH Toyota Scion dealership on Route 9 south. The company could not be reached for comment as to the expansion's cost.

Meanwhile, the area's municipal officials downplay any concerns that new businesses on Route 9 in Monmouth County will lead to more traffic on the often-congested section of the roadway.

"(Traffic's) always a concern, but at this point, I haven't seen many traffic jams," said Jeff Filiatreault, township manager of Howell, who touted a change in the timing of the roadway's stoplights by the state Department of Transportation. "On face value, I would think that there's still capacity on Route 9 so that it can absorb any additional traffic."

Adam Holowienka, 19, of Howell, cited Route 9 between Georgia Tavern and Aldrich roads in the township as a regular problem. However, he does not worry about the surge in commercial development and its potential effects on traffic in the area.

"I do not think it will get too bad considering that the traffic only gets backed up during certain times," he said. "Being a local, I know some of the back roads to take in order to avoid the traffic."

'It's a gamble'

"The economy is starting to turn, (but) it's a gamble, there's no question about it," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc. in Holland, Pa. "What we're likely to see are conditions begin to improve in the state as well as across the country. Whether they're ahead of the curve a little bit is unclear at this point. The missing link in the recovery is household income growth, which is what really powers improvement in retail sales, which would support that type of development."

In New Jersey, household income growth grew by nearly 4 percent to $69,667 in 2012 from $67,035 in 2007, according to the latest figures available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, in the greater New York City area, including Monmouth and Ocean counties, inflation ballooned by more than 11 percent during the same span, according to the latest figures available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While those statistics may pose a daunting challenge to the new businesses coming to Route 9, it did not stop Robert Pagano, president of Pagano Real Estate Inc., a Glen Rock-based developer that specializes in residential and retail real estate, from building Marlboro Commons shopping plaza at routes 9 and 520 in Marlboro for a cost he declined to reveal.

"It's an excellent retail corridor," he said. "I look at a tremendous number of properties, and out of everything I look at, you have to be very cautious because the economy goes up and down, and the project has to be able to stand the test of time, and this is testimony to a project that withstands the test of time."

Though a PNC Bank and Walgreens already opened as part of Marlboro Commons, the 100,000-square-foot shopping plaza will also offer an Ethan Allen, Petco, Ulta Beauty, Verizon Wireless and Whole Foods Market by the end of this year. An additional 4,500-square-foot space remains empty, Pagano said.

"It's natural for businesses to gravitate toward the traffic that travels up and down Route 9," said Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik, who hopes to lower the 93 percent of the township's tax base that comes from homes by adding more commercial real estate.

BJ's coming to Howell

A little further south, Lakewood-based MCH Developing LLC will build The Grove at Howell, a planned 290,000-square-foot shopping plaza that will sit on a recently cleared site on Route 9 northbound near Lanes Mill Road in Howell. The company could not be reached for comment as to the shopping plaza's cost.

The Grove at Howell will feature a BJ's Wholesale Club -- which will likely open early next year -- as its anchor tenant. The rest of the plaza will open in phases, and include a number of large and small box retailers as well as restaurants, but negotiations remain ongoing for more tenants.

Also on Route 9 northbound in Howell, Lakewood-based Rosenreich LLC will build a nearly complete 20,000-square-foot strip mall for a cost the company declined to reveal. The strip mall will hold room for as many as 12 storefronts, but the search continues for tenants there.

"Any commercial, no matter where it is, is always a good ratable," Filiatreault said. "They pay good taxes and help offset some of the services that we have to provide for the residents in the houses."

Anthony Panissidi: 732-643-4284; apanissidi@gannett.com