MANASQUAN TRAIN CUSTOMERS TO GET AMENITIES
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NJ TRANSIT’s Board of Directors approved today a ground lease that will create restrooms and a waiting room for Manasquan train customers at no cost to the Corporation.
“This example of transit-oriented development is part of Gov. McGreevey’s Smart Growth initiative for our State,” said DOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Jack Lettiere. “Planning development near public transportation makes good sense for our present and future.”
“This is about making smart business decisions, in light of our limited resources” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington. “In the end, it’s a win-win situation for both the community and our customers.”
The Corporation will enter into a long-term ground lease with Mark Herrmann Construction of Manasquan for 4,000 square feet of NJ TRANSIT property at the Manasquan Station along the North Jersey Coast Line. The transit-oriented development to be built on the site, will feature a 6,000-square-foot building that will include office and retail space as well as a 400 square-foot waiting area and restrooms for the 164 train customers who board on an average weekday.
The project also will include a safety fence to separate the parking lot, station building and rail tracks from an adjacent strip mall. Herrmann Construction was selected following a competitive process to build, manage and maintain the commercial development, which is scheduled to open by the end of 2005.
All rights, title and interest in the project will vest with NJ TRANSIT upon lease termination/expiration.
The new development will replace the Manasquan Station building, a 19th –century Victorian structure that was destroyed by fire in 1996. The contractor will solicit recommendations associated with the exterior design from a community group designated by the municipality.
NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 752,600 daily trips on 240 bus routes, two light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 163 rail stations, 28 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.