Now, local officials led by Mayor Michael McKenna want to seize upon the fact that both sides of the Route 517 bypass are largely vacant and primed for what they term "town center" development. Several years ago, consultant David Troast was hired as a full-time planner for the community, and what has emerged from the planning process to date is a proposal for mixed-use commercial center totaling some 200,000 sf, including a 60,000-sf supermarket and other retailing, as well as a residential component of about 50 luxury townhomes.

No other specifics have been released, nor has an RFP been issued for possible developers. The one number that has emerged, besides the general scope of the project, is that local officials expect the final product to generate upwards of $10 million in local taxes. Anything close to that amount would be a boon for a community that has been hard pressed to keep up with its own growth--a 30% spike in population between 1980 and 2000, and a projected growth of nearly 100% between now and 2025.

The proposed project is actually part of a town center zone local officials have outlined to straddle the Route 517 bypass. Part of the eventual build-out is already in place—a community shopping center called White Deer Plaza.

The town center zone abuts the community's existing downtown, and in light of the state's new effort to control sprawl, local officials are quick to characterize the proposed project as anti-sprawl. "We are concentrating growth in one center, which is consistent with the state's master plan," Troast told local reporters. For the record, Sparta is within the so-called "red" (no growth) zone on both the original and revised environmental maps issued this year by the administration of Gov. James McGreevey.

Local officials have not yet released a timeline for the project.