Another new track, this time in NJ?? repost??
06-17-2004, 07:46 PM
#1
Honda-Tech Member
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Another new track, this time in NJ?? repost??
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">MILLVILLE -- The municipal airport will be the site of a $100 million motorsports resort park that boosts tourism, creates jobs and offers diverse entertainment options with the potential to transform not only the city but also the entire region, Millville officials and developers announced Tuesday.
The sprawling New Jersey Motorsports Park -- which would offer auto racing tracks, all-terrain vehicle trails, automotive schools, several hotels, restaurants, industrial space and even a country club -- is set to break ground next spring. The first phase of a three-part construction schedule will take nine months to a year to complete, officials said.
"We are thrilled with this project, the caliber of people involved with this project and the positive financial and employment impact it will have on our community and all of South Jersey," Mayor James Quinn said. "Bringing to Millville not only jobs, but quality jobs, is just one of the reasons for our excitement."
The centerpiece of the plan is Thunderbolt Raceway, a 4.1-mile-long course designed to host a broad range of automotive and motorbiking events beginning in spring 2006. The track's title is homage to Millville Airport's role in World War II as a training base for fighter pilots.
The City Commission met in a short special session Tuesday afternoon to support the proposed sale of 707 acres to the developers. A press conference ensued immediately.
City officials didn't try to hide their glee over the deal, and for good reason. The automotive-themed park addresses several key municipal priorities.
It promises at least 1,500 on-site jobs and at least as many more jobs scattered around the city and county.
The park will make payments in lieu of property taxes to the city for a 15-year period. Those payments are expected to start out at about $350,000 as the park's first phase is completed, and rise to $1 million annually after about five years, when all of the complex's elements are in place. The park would be subject to normal property taxes after those 15 years.
Other tourism initiatives can hope to capitalize on the crowds the park draws, notably the Glasstown Arts District.
"We recognize that has to be fed," City Commissioner Joseph Derella said. "This will feed that."
Donald Ayres, the city's economic development director, said the city also will ask the state Legislature to allow Millville to charge a $2 entertainment tax on ticket sales. That money could be used to defray city costs or help the city finance the project.
Ayres said the city's obligation to the project includes running water and sewer service to the site at an estimated cost of $5 million. That is to be met from state Urban Enterprise Zone funds.
Ayres said the city also is offering a $600,000 loan to the developers, intended to defray pre-development costs.
"And we will be preparing applications to various state and federal agencies for additional assistance," Ayres said. Those requests amount to about $10 million.
The project still needs approval from city planning officials, state regulators, the Delaware River & Bay Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration, but no specific timetable was announced as details of the plan were unveiled.
Most of the proposed motorsports park's 707 acres are within the airport's boundaries. The park would include land adjacent to the facility that was acquired last year from Better Materials, a sand-mining firm. The entire site falls within the redevelopment area created last year.
Developers said the city would be paid about $3.7 million for the land. The acquisition may be done in phases, with 500 acres being sold at first.
The lead investors in the complex are Harvey Siegel and Lee Brahin, well-known commercial property developers.
Siegel and Brahmin share a love of racing that extends to amateur competition. And, more importantly, Siegel already has completed a similar motorsports project. He bought the long-closed Virginia International Raceway, renovating and expanding it in 1999. The VIR hosts amateur and professional events and has contributed to an economic boom in that area.
The Millville site is to be an improved version of the VIR, Siegel said.
Besides the main racetrack, plans for the Millville facility include smaller auto racing and go-kart tracks, 400,000 square feet of industrial space, private garages, ATV trails, a motorsports academy for high school students interested in automotive careers, schools to teach advanced driving skills, a car gallery for display and sale of antique and classic automobiles, three to four hotels, restaurants, a country club and a conference center.
The concept is to establish a country club-like atmosphere and facility, not unlike a typical golf club. A visitor can come to watch a show or take part in a race. In either case, their family can take part or fall back on some other activity on-site or nearby.
The facility aims to appeal to a variety of people, from racing enthusiasts to classic car collectors. The tracks could be used for stock car or motorbike races or for groups of vintage and club car collectors who want to rent out space to drive their autos on a weekend afternoon.
City officials and the developers stressed the park would bear no resemblance to a NASCAR facility, either in layout or usage.
"It's all green and planted," Brahin said earlier Tuesday. "And it's beautiful. If you went down to Virginia International Raceway, you feel more like you're pulling into a national park than a racetrack. But it is a racetrack. It's just not what most people's perception is of a racetrack. It looks more like a golf course. And we're trying to bring the same kind of ambience to Millville."
Siegel and Brahin expect some skepticism about the design.
"When you show a beautiful green-colored plan depicting a facility of considerable complexity, it may look as if we're gilding the lily," Siegel said. "But I must tell you that the site, at the end of the day, will be anywhere from 85 to 90 percent in foliage."
The resort's proximity to the airport is regarded as a plus for the park and the airport. The crucial word was "synergy" for local officials, business operators and the developers.
Hugh McElroy, general manager of the Dallas Airmotive aircraft engine repair plant at the airport, is co-chairing a volunteer committee to shepherd the park project.
"Once I looked at the project and explored it, I could see it was a wonderful opportunity for the area," McElroy said. "The plans are very detailed, very well worked out. I have a great deal of confidence the project will come together with great alacrity. I've come to know the principals and their understanding as to how to go forward with this."
McElroy said the annual Wheels & Wings Airshow has shown that the area can handle the type of traffic flow the motorsports facility anticipates.
"And by the way, the air show is a much larger event than the raceway," he said.
The park project has been under discussion for almost a year and a half.
It also culminates a dozen years of on-again, off-again efforts to land some sort of mass-appeal automotive attraction for South Jersey. For the last six years, after dropping interest in a NASCAR facility, the effort has focused on attracting a facility offering lower levels of racing activity.
Quinn and Vice Mayor James Parent paid special tribute to state Sen. Nicholas Asselta, R-1, Cumberland County Freeholder Louis Magazzu and N.J. Conference of Mayors Executive Director Donald Fauerbach for refusing to drop the issue.
Fauerbach earlier said Asselta and assemblymen Jeff Van Drew and Jack Gibson are working on lining up an Atlantic City casino to act as sponsor for the facility. A casino sponsor is necessary to qualify to for state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority funding.
Millville lawyer Gary Wodlinger, the attorney for the developers, said Magazzu often was the only person keeping "the process alive." </TD></TR></TABLE>
Check out http://www.njmotorsportspark.com
I love the layout, looks FAST!
The sprawling New Jersey Motorsports Park -- which would offer auto racing tracks, all-terrain vehicle trails, automotive schools, several hotels, restaurants, industrial space and even a country club -- is set to break ground next spring. The first phase of a three-part construction schedule will take nine months to a year to complete, officials said.
"We are thrilled with this project, the caliber of people involved with this project and the positive financial and employment impact it will have on our community and all of South Jersey," Mayor James Quinn said. "Bringing to Millville not only jobs, but quality jobs, is just one of the reasons for our excitement."
The centerpiece of the plan is Thunderbolt Raceway, a 4.1-mile-long course designed to host a broad range of automotive and motorbiking events beginning in spring 2006. The track's title is homage to Millville Airport's role in World War II as a training base for fighter pilots.
The City Commission met in a short special session Tuesday afternoon to support the proposed sale of 707 acres to the developers. A press conference ensued immediately.
City officials didn't try to hide their glee over the deal, and for good reason. The automotive-themed park addresses several key municipal priorities.
It promises at least 1,500 on-site jobs and at least as many more jobs scattered around the city and county.
The park will make payments in lieu of property taxes to the city for a 15-year period. Those payments are expected to start out at about $350,000 as the park's first phase is completed, and rise to $1 million annually after about five years, when all of the complex's elements are in place. The park would be subject to normal property taxes after those 15 years.
Other tourism initiatives can hope to capitalize on the crowds the park draws, notably the Glasstown Arts District.
"We recognize that has to be fed," City Commissioner Joseph Derella said. "This will feed that."
Donald Ayres, the city's economic development director, said the city also will ask the state Legislature to allow Millville to charge a $2 entertainment tax on ticket sales. That money could be used to defray city costs or help the city finance the project.
Ayres said the city's obligation to the project includes running water and sewer service to the site at an estimated cost of $5 million. That is to be met from state Urban Enterprise Zone funds.
Ayres said the city also is offering a $600,000 loan to the developers, intended to defray pre-development costs.
"And we will be preparing applications to various state and federal agencies for additional assistance," Ayres said. Those requests amount to about $10 million.
The project still needs approval from city planning officials, state regulators, the Delaware River & Bay Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration, but no specific timetable was announced as details of the plan were unveiled.
Most of the proposed motorsports park's 707 acres are within the airport's boundaries. The park would include land adjacent to the facility that was acquired last year from Better Materials, a sand-mining firm. The entire site falls within the redevelopment area created last year.
Developers said the city would be paid about $3.7 million for the land. The acquisition may be done in phases, with 500 acres being sold at first.
The lead investors in the complex are Harvey Siegel and Lee Brahin, well-known commercial property developers.
Siegel and Brahmin share a love of racing that extends to amateur competition. And, more importantly, Siegel already has completed a similar motorsports project. He bought the long-closed Virginia International Raceway, renovating and expanding it in 1999. The VIR hosts amateur and professional events and has contributed to an economic boom in that area.
The Millville site is to be an improved version of the VIR, Siegel said.
Besides the main racetrack, plans for the Millville facility include smaller auto racing and go-kart tracks, 400,000 square feet of industrial space, private garages, ATV trails, a motorsports academy for high school students interested in automotive careers, schools to teach advanced driving skills, a car gallery for display and sale of antique and classic automobiles, three to four hotels, restaurants, a country club and a conference center.
The concept is to establish a country club-like atmosphere and facility, not unlike a typical golf club. A visitor can come to watch a show or take part in a race. In either case, their family can take part or fall back on some other activity on-site or nearby.
The facility aims to appeal to a variety of people, from racing enthusiasts to classic car collectors. The tracks could be used for stock car or motorbike races or for groups of vintage and club car collectors who want to rent out space to drive their autos on a weekend afternoon.
City officials and the developers stressed the park would bear no resemblance to a NASCAR facility, either in layout or usage.
"It's all green and planted," Brahin said earlier Tuesday. "And it's beautiful. If you went down to Virginia International Raceway, you feel more like you're pulling into a national park than a racetrack. But it is a racetrack. It's just not what most people's perception is of a racetrack. It looks more like a golf course. And we're trying to bring the same kind of ambience to Millville."
Siegel and Brahin expect some skepticism about the design.
"When you show a beautiful green-colored plan depicting a facility of considerable complexity, it may look as if we're gilding the lily," Siegel said. "But I must tell you that the site, at the end of the day, will be anywhere from 85 to 90 percent in foliage."
The resort's proximity to the airport is regarded as a plus for the park and the airport. The crucial word was "synergy" for local officials, business operators and the developers.
Hugh McElroy, general manager of the Dallas Airmotive aircraft engine repair plant at the airport, is co-chairing a volunteer committee to shepherd the park project.
"Once I looked at the project and explored it, I could see it was a wonderful opportunity for the area," McElroy said. "The plans are very detailed, very well worked out. I have a great deal of confidence the project will come together with great alacrity. I've come to know the principals and their understanding as to how to go forward with this."
McElroy said the annual Wheels & Wings Airshow has shown that the area can handle the type of traffic flow the motorsports facility anticipates.
"And by the way, the air show is a much larger event than the raceway," he said.
The park project has been under discussion for almost a year and a half.
It also culminates a dozen years of on-again, off-again efforts to land some sort of mass-appeal automotive attraction for South Jersey. For the last six years, after dropping interest in a NASCAR facility, the effort has focused on attracting a facility offering lower levels of racing activity.
Quinn and Vice Mayor James Parent paid special tribute to state Sen. Nicholas Asselta, R-1, Cumberland County Freeholder Louis Magazzu and N.J. Conference of Mayors Executive Director Donald Fauerbach for refusing to drop the issue.
Fauerbach earlier said Asselta and assemblymen Jeff Van Drew and Jack Gibson are working on lining up an Atlantic City casino to act as sponsor for the facility. A casino sponsor is necessary to qualify to for state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority funding.
Millville lawyer Gary Wodlinger, the attorney for the developers, said Magazzu often was the only person keeping "the process alive." </TD></TR></TABLE>
Check out http://www.njmotorsportspark.com
I love the layout, looks FAST!
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