JACKSON Twenty-One

[BMax]

I saw a commercial for a development that this man named Mitch Leigh is proposing to build near the six flags property. This opening statement says:

 

I'm Mitch Leigh and I'm a dreamer. One of my dreams has been to create a very special place where really nice people can live, work and have fun. Where you can choose from all kinds of new neighborhoods and quality apartments and houses. And best of all, where creativity, excitement, sports, shopping, dining and beautiful open spaces are all within walking distance!Today, my dream is becoming a reality with JACKSON Twenty-One – a one-of-a-kind green village I'm building right next door to Six Flags Great Adventure in scenic New Jersey. That's in Ocean County, a short drive from New York City, Philadelphia and the famous Jersey Shore!

 

 

 

 

I wonder if we will see this in the future? check out his website

http://www.jacksontwentyone.com/

[Thunderbolt]

Sounds like Six Flags better plan a nightly fireworks show, before this property is developed. It will be impossible to host after the fact.

 

Oh, and if you're not a nice person, please call now!

[gasmspiritblue]

Would i hate that! There are too many dam houses in Jackson, it's one of the most populated towns in NJ.

[gafreak]

its off exit 21 off 195, not really next door to ga

Edited January 10, 2013 by gafreak

[gasmspiritblue]

its off exit 21 off 195, not really next door to ga

 

Good.

[Daved Thomson]

I saw a commercial for a development that this man named Mitch Leigh is proposing to build near the six flags property. This opening statement says:

 

 

 

I wonder if we will see this in the future? check out his website

http://www.jacksontwentyone.com/

 

Well... If the quality and presentation of his website are any indicator of the quality and atmosphere of his place for "really nice people," I think he needs to be a better dreamer and consider leaving the land as it is already for the "really nice people" that are already living nearby!

[sixflagsdude101]

six flags great adventure already has little space left to it. this will ruin six flags! they better buy their space out and set firework. i am pissed

[sixflagsdude101]

oohh, i think he meant its right next door by not a long drive and its in the same town.. I ranted for nothing

[29yrswithaGApass]

What's being built there? Jackson Twenty-One set to open welcome center, break ground this spring

Feb. 6, 2014 Asbury Park Press

JACKSON — If patience truly ranks among the virtues, then Mitch Leigh deserves recognition as a saint. And if you’re not a nice person, then stop reading here.

 

After 26 years, the 86-year-old Leigh, who composed the Broadway musical “Man of La Mancha,” soon will step closer to realizing his long-elusive venture of building Jackson Twenty-One, a planned downtown-style neighborhood with homes and shops on more than 900 acres in the township.

 

But it’s intended only for nice people, especially those who love the arts and sports.

 

“If you’re not a nice person, please don’t call,” said Leigh, at the end of a commercial that advertised Jackson Twenty-One, which aired as part of a campaign to generate interest in the development.

In 1988, Leigh’s grand vision for Jackson Twenty-One — which derives its name from its location’s exit number on I-195 — received township approval. But unlike the smooth tunes of “Man of La Mancha,” the development’s path toward construction held plenty of bumps, including the Great Recession in 2008, which forced Leigh back to the drawing board.

 

Finally, in 2012, Leigh again obtained township approval for Jackson Twenty-One, but with modified plans, which included 1,514 residential units and 2.9 million square feet of commercial space at its site between West Commodore Boulevard and Freehold Road, across from Glory’s Market — a deli, butcher and liquor store.

 

Today, at long last, Jackson Twenty-One’s construction site finally bears the beginnings of the development’s welcome center — something real, something tangible, something visible to passers-by and, most of all, something that symbolizes the progress of Leigh’s never-ending quest.

 

“This project has been so long in the making,” said Tom Bovino, manager of Leigh Realty Co. in Brick, which oversees Jackson Twenty-One. “(The welcome center) is an opportunity to create inertia and hopefully over time that inertia will snowball into a huge success.”

 

Jackson Twenty-One’s welcome center will open sometime this spring. It will feature a lobby, sales office and blueprints for existing and planned projects. Right now, it sits as an unfinished dark-green and single-story structure on the construction site. The coming welcome center also remains partially obscured by a rectangular billboard covered by a blue tarp. The billboard advertises the first phase of the development and will do so for future parts of the project as it progresses.

 

Much to Leigh’s delight, Jackson Twenty-One also will break ground on its first residential buildings this spring, pending a couple of last-minute approvals by the township. The Gardens, one of seven planned sections according to the development’s website, will consist of 510 two-story rental apartments resembling English manor houses in a neighborhood setting, where residents parallel park their cars right in front of their homes, similar to the downtown sections of Belmar and Manasquan.

 

“There’s a tremendous interest for traditional commercial suburban development, like along Route 9 and Route 70,” Bovino said. “Mitch’s vision is to channel that commercial demand into more of a community design.”

 

Think something like Long Branch’s Pier Village, but bigger and forget the parking lots. Jackson Twenty-One’s residents will park their cars on the street and walk a few feet to their front door as they would in any other neighborhood.

 

Future planned portions of Jackson Twenty-One include townhouses, rentals above businesses, live-work units, professional offices, medical offices, banks, restaurants, sports facilities and a movie theater among other aspects. However, the commercial development of the project depends on its success in attracting residents, who would theoretically serve as a stable source of business for shop owners.

 

 

Check out the video HERE.

[29yrswithaGApass]

Have to wonder if this project gets a green light how it might impact any hotel/development plans at Great Adventure.

[Coaster Justin]

six flags great adventure already has little space left to it. this will ruin six flags! they better buy their space out and set firework. i am pissed

 

 

The resort is located on about 2,200 acres and only 800 are being used right now. I think they have some land leftover.

[Mrpq]

I just read through this and realized that this is the same project that I had saw tv commercials about. I remember seeing them a few times late at night I think during adult swim. It hit me when it says " if you are not a nice person please don't call". I remember actually watching and hearing that and going "WHAT!?!?! Lol"

[29yrswithaGApass]

Mitch Leigh, developer of Jackson Twenty-One, dies at 86

 

Source: Asbury Park Press March 18, 2014

 

 

JACKSON — Finally, after more than 25 years in the making,Jackson Twenty-One’s welcome center will open this spring, but Mitch Leigh, the man who first envisioned it, will not see it.

Leigh, the composer of the famed Broadway musical “Man of La Mancha” who aspired to build a commercial and residential development similar to Long Branch’s Pier Village, died Sunday at 86.

“Like the rest of the world, I’m deeply saddened by his loss, especially on the cusp of what he was trying to do for Jackson and the surrounding areas,” said Mayor Michael Reina, who attended a mediation meeting for Jackson Twenty-One as recently as last week. “Right now, our thoughts and prayers are with him (and) his family.”

PREVIOUS STORY: What's going there? Jackson Twenty-One set to open welcome center, break ground this spring

In 1988, Leigh’s grand vision for Jackson Twenty-One — a planned downtown-style neighborhood with homes and shops on more than 900 acres owned by the composer off Exit 21 of Interstate 195 — received township approval. However, Leigh encountered a number of setbacks during the ensuing quarter-century that delayed his dream.

In 2012, Leigh again received tentative township approval, but with modified plans, which called for 1,514 residential units and 2.9 million square feet of commercial space between West Commodore Boulevard and Freehold Road across from Glory’s Market — a butcher, deli and liquor store.

Shortly thereafter, Leigh appeared on local television commercials that not only advertised Jackson Twenty-One, but also let viewers know that the composer only wanted nice people, especially those who love the arts and sports, to live in his development.

Today, at long last, the intersection where Leigh’s real estate dream began so many years ago bears the tangible beginnings of Jackson Twenty-One’s welcome center. Right now, it sits as an unfinished dark-green single-story structure behind a large rectangular billboard covered by a blue tarp.

“We’re going to hope to fulfill his dream by continuing to move forward on the project with our support and respect for the man,” Reina said.

So sometime this spring, the welcome center will open with blueprints for existing and planned portions of Jackson Twenty-One, a lobby and a sales office, but not Leigh.

“Mr. Leigh was a friend of the chamber and we will miss him greatly,” said Catherine Gross, general manager of Jackson Chamber of Commerce. “He was a wonderful man and, we believe, a visionary.”

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jackson Chamber of Commerce invites those interested to attend an update about Jackson Twenty-One, a meeting that it held at the same time last year with Leigh there and one that it planned this year before Leigh died.

Tom Bovino, manager of Leigh Realty Co. in Brick, which oversees Jackson Twenty-One, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

 

[jdc12192]

 

 

Huge project: Jackson Twenty-One finally underway

Anthony Panissidi, @APPanissidi 11:04 p.m. EST December 10, 2014

 

JACKSON – The curtain is finally rising on Jackson Twenty-One, after decades of delays.

 

The first phase of the planned downtown-style neighborhood — similar to, yet much larger than Pier Village in Long Branch — finally got underway earlier this fall with the clearance of a large swath of land on West Commodore Boulevard just west of Route 527.

 

The Gardens at Jackson Twenty-One will consist of 510 one- and two-bedroom rental units throughout 44 two-story buildings on the recently cleared 57 acres of land. It also will feature a swimming pool and tennis courts. An additional 71 acres will remain untouched greenery with natural attractions, such as biking and hiking paths.

 

Mitch Leigh, the famed composer of the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha" and its signature song, "The Impossible Dream," first envisioned Jackson Twenty-One more than 40 years ago when he started buying what would eventually become nearly 1,000 acres of land in the township off Exit 21 of Interstate 195. He first received the township's approval for his plan in 1988, but a number of setbacks during the ensuing quarter-century, including the Great Recession, delayed his dream. He died last March at the age of 86.

 

Jackson Twenty-One will go on without Mitch Leigh

 

'It's really happening'

 

"It's exciting and there's nothing like seeing it actually happen," said Tom Bovino, manager of Leigh Realty Co., the Brick-based real estate company that oversees Jackson Twenty-One. "It's been talked about for years and to see it actually happen is a sense of satisfaction that it's finally starting to happen. We're excited for what Mitch wanted to accomplish and we're also excited for the residents of town. ... No more rumors. It's really happening."

 

Bovino expects to close a deal soon with Atlantic Realty Development Co., a Woodbridge-based developer that builds rental communities throughout New Jersey, for a contract to build The Gardens. Atlantic Realty, however, will not provide an estimated cost for The Gardens or a projected timeline for its completion until after the contract becomes official.

 

Aside from the cleared land, Jackson Twenty-One's recently built welcome center marks its only tangible progress. The dark-green, single-story building at East Commodore Boulevard and Route 527 across from Glory's Market, however, will not open until the units get closer to completion this spring or summer. The billboard that faces the intersection in the rear of the building, which remains covered by a blue tarp, will then begin to advertise each phase of the project.

 

In total, Jackson Twenty-One will encompass the nearly 1,000 acres of land that Leigh bought so long ago, but it will take years to complete, with a price tag that Bovino conservatively estimates could reach $200 million to $300 million. Leigh owned the land for so long that he had paid off its debt by the time he died, which will allow Leigh Realty to invest in future portions of the project using the money from developers who buy the land.

 

Homes and stores

 

Of its massive amount of land, however, Jackson Twenty-One will develop 350 acres while the rest will remain untouched greenery. The sprawling neighborhood currently calls for a mixture of 1,541 multifamily for-sale and rental units as well as 2.9 million square feet of commercial space. The purely residential portion of Jackson Twenty-One will occur in three phases. Bovino hopes to begin The Townhomes at Jackson Twenty-One, the second residential phase, in 2015.

 

"There's no single-family in that," Bovino said. "Jackson has enough single-family homes. That's how the town feels and that's sort of how we feel. We're trying to compact development and create walkable neighborhoods that are kind of connected into a downtown. We're trying to create a downtown for Jackson."

 

Jackson Twenty-One's other projected phases include a purely commercial section, and a mixed-use section that will combine office, retail and residential space.

[jdc12192]

Bump in topic, but I drove past the future location today. For a while there was a giant billboard across from glories that has been covered, but it is finally uncovered and landscaped advertising Jackson 21 apartments and that they are now leasing.

[gencx]

There is a similar billboard on I-195 E headed towards the park. Funny coincidence, it replaced a park billboard for Joker.