Aberdeen Officials Allow Signs To Advertise Glassworks Project

ABERDEEN, NJ - The Glassworks project will be well advertised. Council members this week authorized their first amendment to the redevelopment plan that covers the former Anchor Glass manufacturing plant facility, which has been a Cliffwood area eyesore since 1996

This follows the town's original 2010 redevelopment designation. The new permissions authorize two freestanding signs along Cliffwood Avenue, at each entrance. Previously, only one sign was permitted. A third sign will be permitted along the property's Garden State Parkway frontage. But there are conditions. The signs may only be erected if they are in a common area and list four separate uses, according to the ordinance.

The Cliffwood Avenue signs shall not exceed 100 square feet and 15 feet in height and have a setback from all property lines of 20 feet. The Garden State Parkway sign will be limited to an area of 200 square feet and 25 feet in height, It also must have a 25 foot property setback.

Somerset Development describes its project: "Located adjacent to regional transit corridors, The Glassworks seeks to create a vibrant, accessible “Main Street” on what was once an abandoned industrial site," their site maintains. "Approved plans for the 55-acre plot include 540 new residential units – 110 of which will be designated as affordable – along with a 110 room hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail space, including a boutique movie theater."

Open space will include a two-acre public park displaying the brick stacks from the original factory onsite.

The project represents Somerset’s aim to repurpose environmentally problematic sites, transforming them into sustainable regional destinations.

A shot of a construction project. Photograph by Diane Bondareff/Associated Press.