Ready or not, hotel proposal advances in Morris Township

Morris Township Planner Paul Phillips at virtual planning board meeting, Feb. 1, 2021. Screenshot by Kevin Coughlin
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Whether business travelers will flock to hotels again, after the pandemic, is anyone’s guess.

But developers still want to build one in Morris Township, and their proposal does not clash with the municipality’s zoning master plan.

Those were Township Planner Paul Phillips’ observations Monday at a virtual planning board meeting unhampered by a raging nor’easter. The board listened, and unanimously agreed to forward the 340 Mt. Kemble Ave. redevelopment plan to the Township Committee for possible approval on Feb. 24, 2021.

Onyx Equities LLC wants to erect a 225-room, four story hotel to complement 400,000 square feet of offices that include a former AT&T regional headquarters.  The 40-acre property was earmarked for redevelopment by Township officials last year; the hotel proposal emerged last month.

Rendition of 340 Mt. Kemble office/hotel project, ONYX Equities.

Planning board member Jesse Flowers asked if anyone studied the need for this hotel. Many hotel projects have withered during the pandemic, Phillips acknowledged. Yet he  asserted Onyx wishes to continue.

“In fairness, since COVID, everything has been on hold. But the property owner is still interested in pursuing this hotel going forward,” Phillips said. “The future ultimately will tell us what’s going to happen and when.”

Morris Township Mayor Jeff Grayzel at virtual planning board meeting, Feb. 1, 2021. Screenshot by Kevin Coughlin

When Mayor Jeff Grayzel pressed Phillips on why Onyx remains keen on this, the planner replied: “I can only surmise they are looking past the existing challenges we have with the public health emergency.”

If a hotel helps the office park prosper, the Township’s tax base will benefit, Phillips said.

Public comments were not allowed during the Zoom meeting. Residents get their chance on Feb. 24, before the Township Committee. Nearby homeowners are organizing opposition, contending the hotel is being rushed.

Phillips insisted the redevelopment plan safeguards neighbors from adverse impacts. Hotel amenities are geared for business users; large banquet halls are prohibited. The hotel would sit at least 350 feet from the closest neighbors on Frederick Place. And it will appear shorter than the three-story office building, because of the topography, Phillips said.

The board’s task on Monday merely was to ascertain if the redevelopment plan adhered to principles of the master plan. Those documents are “not inconsistent,” Phillips advised.

Morris Township Planning Board Chairman Edward Benoit at virtual planning board meeting, Feb. 1, 2021. Screenshot by Kevin Coughlin

Grayzel and fellow Township Committee member Cathy Wilson joined Flowers, board Chairman Edward Benoit, and board members Tanya Van Orden, George Quillan, Richard Bye and Joseph Alesso to affirm that finding.

The board will get one more crack at the project, for site plan approval, if the Township Committee gives its blessing to the redevelopment.

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