SAYREVILLE – Construction of the long awaited Bass Pro Shops has begun at Riverton, the 418-acre $2.5 billion development on banks of the Raritan River.
Leases have been signed with Bass Pro Shops and QuickChek with a third store in the works, said Himanshu Shah, executive director of the Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment Agency (SERA).
It will be the second Bass Pro Shops in New Jersey and the only one in New Jersey north of Atlantic City.
“It’s going to be a phenomenal building,” Mark Fetah, an executive at Riverton, told the Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment Agency (SERA). “It’s going to truly be a destination, so we’re as excited as ever and more dedicated than ever to see this thing through.”
At the Borough Council’s reorganization meeting earlier this month, Mayor Kennedy O’Brien said that “we continue working closely with the developers at Riverton, which finally – and let me reemphasize finally – began construction a few weeks ago.”
“For many of us who have eagerly awaited for construction to commence on this former industrial site, the moment that Riverton began pouring concrete and foundations, we knew that all the work of so many from Sayreville over the years is bearing fruit,” O’Brien said. “Riverton, as they say, is finally going vertical. We look forward to celebrating the commencement of this major mixed-use project – the largest of its kind in the state – with a ceremony in the spring.”
The mayor thanked members of SERA for overseeing “the right type of investments” coming to Sayreville.
“SERA and I share a vision,” O’Brien said. “Redevelopment is all about minimizing impact and maximizing returns for the people of Sayreville.”
The mayor said his office daily receives phone calls from major investors across the country interested in coming to Sayreville.
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“We carefully balance each and every proposal we hear,” he said. “We are only interested in projects that help our town become more affordable to you, creating both jobs and stabilizing taxes for the long-term.”
O’Brien also said his administration is making good on the pledge to improve the borough’s parks and recreation programs.
There will be see new walking paths and renovated restrooms at Kennedy Park. The parking lot at Veterans Park has been improved and lighting has been installed, the mayor said.
The borough will be going out to bid for two new athletic fields at the Ust Recreational Complex.
In addition the mayor said, the borough will be applying for grants for a “large scale revitalization” of Bailey Park.
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Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com
Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bass Pro Shops to open first Central NJ location in Sayreville