Land Behind Hazlet Cinema Is On The Market For $7.5 Million

An 8.3-acre area behind the Cinemark Multi-Plex Movie Theater in Hazlet is on the market for $7.5 million. The listing agent says it is suitable for a 70,000 square foot retail center. 

The location may be right for two or more stores to share, said William Lenaz of R.J. Brunelli & Co. of Old Bridge. "There aren't too many retailers that will take that size store," said Lenaz. "If we were lucky enough to procure a retailer for the site, it will probably be two or three stores, or maybe a row of restaurants." 

To put the size in context, Lenaz said stores like Walmart are approximately 130,000 square feet; Hobby Lobby is 50,000 square feet, and Barnes & Noble is 25,000 square feet. Lenaz said every idea will be considered, including a gym or sports complex. 

A sales brochure has been created for the property, which R.J. Brunelli has dubbed the "Cinemark Theatres Center." The potential site is in a commercial district, surrounded by Costco, Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizza and the Cinemark, with a parking lot and drainage already installed. 

But before the lot can be sold, it has to be formally created. On Thursday, Dec. 5, Rave SL Tenant, LLC and EPT Nineteen, Inc. will come before the Hazlet Township Planning Board to seek subdivision approval to create two new proposed lots from its 24-acre property. One would be the 8.3-acre lot that is already being marketed, and the other would be a 15-acre lot where their multiplex now stands.  

The land owners will need variances for the proposed 8.3-acre lot because it is falls short of the required 10-acre minimum lot size in a commercial district, and the landlocked parcel would not have public street frontage. 

Some residents of Stanford Drive, whose homes are located on the other side of the buffer zone, have been formally noticed. The public notice of the Dec. 5 hearing can be read here.  

Lenaz, a resident of Holmdel, said he is interested in hearing from Holmdel-Hazlet Patch readers on their ideas for what should go there. Please leave your suggestions in the comments.