To begin with, it's located in two adjoining Monmouth County communities, Matawan and Aberdeen, and each community has approval rights over the acreage within its borders (44 acres for Matawan, 60 for Aberdeen). First proposed two years ago as part of a statewide effort to promote commercial development around New Jersey's rail hubs, Station Plaza will rise around the Matawan-Aberdeen Train Station, the state's fourth busiest commuter stop.

And the project has just gotten a big shove forward with the naming, by both towns, of their preferred development groups. Both groups combine a mix of developers, investors, brokers and contractors, beginning with Aberdeen's consortium of six companies. The Station Plaza Consortium will be headed by Silver Oaks Properties of Monroe Twp., NJ. The others involved in putting the Colonial-themed mixed uses on Aberdeen's 60 acres are Bergen Capital of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ; Jefferson Properties of Dallas; Boyken International of Atlanta; Baker Residential of Pleasantville, NY; and Grubb & Ellis of New York City.

"Station Plaza will become the heart of Aberdeen and Matawan," Aberdeen Mayor David Sobel told reporters in announcing his town's choice of developers. Demographically, his community is a suburban township with no defined urban core.

The more urbanized Matawan, meanwhile, has just tapped a partnership headed by the Columbia Group LLC to build out its 44-acre portion of the project. The Edison, NJ-based Columbia's partners include K. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. of Middletown, NJ and Mack-Cali Realty of Cranford, NJ.

In announcing the selection, Matawan Mayor Robert Clifton indicated to reporters "we've cleared a major hurdle."

The next step for both halves of Station Plaza is a series of negotiations to work out traffic-related issues. A variety of permits also have to be obtained.

No timeline has been set for the project yet because, according to officials, it depends upon lining up all of the financing needed to complete the various components of Station Plaza. Officials of both communities have said they will apply for federal and state assistance.