FEATURE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2008

START YOUR ENGINES
A 700-acre entertainment complex reenergizes the Southern New Jersey landscape.
Dan Marcec

A group of developers in New Jersey are set to begin construction on a 700-acre, New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville. The new entertainment facility includes a plethora of venues to attract motorsports enthusiasts, however, the park also features condominiums, retail, office, R&D and warehouse space all dedicated to the motorsports industry. See page 40 for more information.

At a 2002 International Council of Shopping Centers conference in New York, Joe Savaro and Lee Brahin hit it off with the economic development director for the city of Millville, New Jersey, with little idea what their friendship would develop. The city wanted to attach an entertainment sports district, designed around motorsports, to Millville Municipal Airport. Brahin, both a real estate developer and a racer, jumped immediately at the proposition. After consulting with Harvey Siegel, a real estate developer himself as well as owner of the Virginia International Raceway (VIR), a team assembled to plan the 700-acre, $150 million New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP).

Brahin, operating principal Brahin Properties, Inc., and managing partner of NJMP; Savaro, partner and development project manager; Siegel; and Richard J. Valentine, are all part of the development team. Valentine himself is a professional race car driver as well as a pioneer in small business insurance (MBA Group), auto aftermarket (Jiffy Lube/Lojak) and corporate teambuilding (F1 Boston).

The project is scheduled to open its first phase in June, and like its sister property, VIR, the NJMP is a true mixed-use project featuring a variety of race tracks as well as commercial amenities. With two road courses; a driver training and skid pad facility; a three-quarter mile tri-oval, high performance kart track; and an off-road vehicle course for extreme sports, the development has everything to attract motorsports enthusiasts. However, NJMP also features 182 condominiums, retail and restaurants, hotels, a conference center, and 400,000 square feet of office, R&D and warehouse space all dedicated to the motorsports industry.

Attracting more than just a tourist influx, the park is expected to be a momentous economic engine for Southern New Jersey. Situated between New York City and Washington D.C., just 45 minutes from both Atlantic City and Philadelphia, the corridor along which the park lies encompasses a total population of 85 million.

“There are a variety of demographics in this region, and we feel like we’re going to meet a specific need here,” says Brahin. “A lot of people want to be involved with the automotive lifestyle, and there is no competition in this corridor. Essentially we saw one of the best demographics in the United States and we’re fulfilling a need for that population. NJMP will be second to none for this type of facility.”

Though the project is on its way and ready to provide significant impact up and down the Mid-Atlantic coast, entitlements took 5 years to obtain. First, the location on which the park sits was owned by the city of Millville, slated for economic development. Finding the land certainly wasn’t a problem, but assembling it proved troublesome.

“About 147 acres or so was leased to the Airport under the Delaware River Bay Authority, and we had to convince them to amend their lease so we could use the land,” says Brahin. “That process wasn’t overly complex, but it turned out that the land was donated by the U.S. Department of Defense after being an airfield base, and because of the former use of the property, there was an extended, complex, and expensive environmental impact study undertaken that lasted 2º years.”

Savaro agrees. “Approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for use of the land took the longest, finally issued at the beginning of 2007,” he says. “We were persistent, and the city and the agencies showed tremendous patience and perseverance to see it through.”

The New Jersey Motorsports Park is a new mixed-use project featuring a variety of race tracks as well as commercial amenities in Millville, New Jersey.

The project will be developed in three phases, the first including the Thunderbolt and Lightning race tracks as well as 12 management and operations buildings, all situated on 500 of the park’s 700 acres. In addition, the pool and tennis community along with the 182-unit Villas at Breighton will be included on the north side of the project.

On the south side, the remaining 200 acres are slated for the off-road ATV course, the tri-oval track, the 400,000 square feet of commercial space, plus hotels and a conference center. Construction there is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year.

Breaking down the project piece by piece, the racing facilities provide unique aspects all unto themselves. The Thunderbolt Raceway, named after the P-47 aircraft fighter based in Millville during WWII, winds through 14 turns across 2.25 miles while the grounds feature concessions, event garages, 20 VIP suites, banquet rooms and a three-story timing tower with a media center and more VIP facilities. Next, the challenging Lightning Road Course stretches 1.9 miles and features dramatic elevation changes and corners. American racing icon Carroll Shelby is aiding the conceptual design for this portion of project.

Moving to the south side of the NJMP, the 1.1-mile F-1 Karting Facility will connect to the Lightning Course, offering attractions such as corporate team-building and special member race days. Further, the ATV off-road course features an adjustable challenge track for racers of all skill levels, and the three-quarter mile tri-oval track tests drivers in a true auto racing experience. In addition, it will be utilized for public racing events and testing products from the R&D facility.

NJMP offers a membership program, The Drivers Club™, providing an abundance of racing opportunities, plus high-end support and services, including: member-only driving days and a luxurious clubhouse, as well as a long list of high-end country-club type amenities and services designed to deliver a completely unique Motorsports experience. Memberships start at $10,000.

Finally, NJMP also provides driver training schools ranging from basic introductory courses to classes for experienced drivers, running the gamut of motorsports possibilities: motorcycles, off-track vehicles, classic automobiles, vintage cars, trucks and sports cars. A motorsports camp targeted toward young people ages 10 to 17 also will be offered.

“Yet, as the park is a true mixed-use facility, it offers so many more programs that are not motorsports driven,” says Savaro. “In addition to the retail, commercial and residential components, the project is approved for concerts and festivals; activity is not driven only by the racing season.”

“Things do slow down in the winter, but we’ll still have businesses running and people utilizing the conference center,” adds Brahin. 

The residential component, Villas at Breighton, is named after the WWII Royal Air Force Base and situated directly in the center of the project in view of Thunderbolt and Lightning. Each unit features a second-floor deck with trackside views, and the facility amenities include a clubhouse, sports pavilion and activity center, private golf carts and access to all the NJMP venues.

The shopping, hotel and restaurant options include specialty stores and related services; three hotels totaling 370 rooms (two at a moderate price point and one economy facility); and three uniquely-themed, family-friendly restaurants. Furthermore, the 200-room hotel and conference center is designed to meet the needs of the business community, planned for development in phase III.

Finally, the R&D Office Campus encompasses 400,000 square feet of industrial, warehouse and office space available for businesses related to the automotive industries, bringing a new and unique business climate to the area. The complex offers space for testing or demonstrating products in these fields.

“One of the things we’re most excited about, and one of the most unique things about this project is that we’re introducing the automotive industry to South Jersey,” says Savaro. “Traditionally, this is an agricultural or manufacturing community, and it’s been hurting for jobs for some time; by bringing tourism and industry here, we’re going to fill a much needed void.”

Another key element of the NJMP is its partnership with local educational facilities Rowan University, Cumberland County College and Cumberland County Vocational-Technical School. “On the education side, we’re working with these institutions to enhance job training degree programs that fit into the businesses growing from this project, and in conjunction with attracting motorsports tourism, we have 70 different businesses in the South Jersey district working with us on cross-marketing and different promotional programs,” says Savaro. “Needless to say, this is a tremendous opportunity to complement the whole region.”

Finally, as is apparent from all the above features, Brahin notes the tremendous economic impact from the project. “Rowan University’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship did a study on the immediate marketplace, Cumberland County, and came up with a conservative estimate that NJMP will provide $220 million to the area,” he says. “A lot of that is multiplier effect, but the immediate impact will be 6,000 jobs and $24 million in tax revenue in just the first 5 years.” That’s just the immediate Cumberland County area, notwithstanding the effect this project will have on the entire New York to Washington, D.C. corridor.

Start your engines: the New Jersey Motorsports Park is driving to the top.

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