Proposed Housing Development Puts Historic NJ Racetrack at Risk

Like every municipality in New Jersey, Old Bridge Township must provide its “fair share” of affordable housing units. Specifically, it needs to provide 673 units by the year 2035. One proposed development site would substantially help meet that requirement—but it also places a historic local racetrack at risk.

Affordable Housing

The affordable housing obligation began from the Mount Laurel doctrine, the legal principle that municipalities can’t use zoning to exclude low- and moderate-income individuals. Codified in the landmark affordable housing law A‑4/S‑50 in 2024, the doctrine transformed into a statutory framework with strict housing requirements for all municipalities.

Initially, the state determined that Old Bridge would need to provide 685 units to meet its affordable housing obligation. Town planner Vina Savin argued that the state’s figure was based on unreliable data and suggested that 333 units was more accurate. Nevertheless, a court set the final number at 673 units. Old Bridge even sought to delay adoption of its housing plan, but the court denied the motion. Old Bridge Township Faces Challenges with State-Mandated Housing Obligations | LocalLens. As such, Old Bridge was stuck with a steep affordable housing obligation.

Once the number of required units was set in stone, the township needed to find land suitable for development. A 534-acre site looked promising. However, the proposed development has local motorsport fans deeply concerned about a beloved racetrack’s future.

Raceway Park

Raceway Park debuted back in 1965 as a single quarter-mile drag racing strip. Over the years, it evolved into a motorsport complex and has attracted massive crowds for events like motocross, karting, and drifting. The venue is not limited to motorsports, though; a variety of other events have been held there, such as concerts and festivals. It famously hosted the Grateful Dead in 1977 when up to 175,000 “deadheads” were in attendance.

In 2023, Old Bridge attempted to move forward with a rezoning plan that would permit single-family homes on Raceway Park’s property. Raceway sued the township, arguing that the rezoning would deprive them of the ability to use the property. The lawsuit resulted in the project being shelved.

Redevelopment Investigation

Now that Old Bridge is obligated to meet affordable housing requirements, the Raceway Park property is once again an area of interest. The township launched an investigation to determine whether the property should be designated as an area in need of redevelopment. In this instance, the investigation was conducted for non‑condemnation redevelopment, meaning the township sought redevelopment without exercising eminent domain. This differs from condemnation redevelopment, where the municipality may acquire property through eminent domain. You can read more about the difference in our post here: Redevelopment Rules | Redevelopment Designation Impact.

Non-condemnation redevelopment is a fairly new concept. Before 2013, all redevelopment designations automatically carried eminent domain authority. That changed with P.L. 2013, c.159, which created a distinct category—non‑condemnation redevelopment—allowing municipalities to designate an area without gaining condemnation power.  The change in the law was summarized in this article by MROD’s Anthony DellaPelle, who was a member of the committee that assisted in the origination and drafting of that legislation.

In this case, the study concluded that Raceway Park is an area in need of redevelopment. Reasons for this include widespread underutilization and obsolete or inefficient land use patterns. Since the study was used for non-condemnation purposes, Old Bridge will not acquire the property through eminent domain. Instead, it will have to negotiate with the current landowners.

Conclusion

Although Raceway Park has been designated as an area in need of redevelopment, Old Bridge has yet to formally implement a redevelopment plan. Apparently, only half of the land is suitable for residential development due to environmental constraints. There are other complicating factors as well. The study noted that vehicle storage and potential oil leaks require remediation and reconfiguration for development to occur. Moreover, the land is right next to Old Bridge Airport, subjecting it to many other building restrictions.

To read more, click here: NJ Town Wants to Build 600 Houses on Historic Race Track’s Land.