The township owns the property, having acquired it in 2003 for$6.5 million to thwart a plan by Home Depot to build a nearly105,000-sf store on the site. That plan had raised considerableopposition from nearby residents and an adjacent church. Generalplans for the redevelopment that have been drawn up by townshipplanner Michael Fowler and his land use department call for a mixof residential, retail and office space, and a hotel/conferencecenter.

"It's been more than five years since the Foodtown was taken offthe tax rolls by the previous administration," says Mayor StephenAcropolis. "Getting that property back on the tax rolls, and doingit in a way that's in the best interest of our community, has beena priority for us."

The current township council had earlier designated the propertyas "an area in need of redevelopment," a move that elicited morethan 100 expressions of interest. The deadline for formal responsesto the township's subsequent RFP was Aug. 7, and the four proposalsto be unveiled this week have emerged from that process.