According to a published report, Somerset's plan is ambitious,encompassing everything from a big-box retail lifestyle center, toa youth baseball complex, a theater complex and close to 800residential units. There's one small hitch: this city is alreadyunder contract with the locally based Cedarbridge Development Corp.for the latter to develop the largely vacant tract as a corporatepark.

The plan for Cedarbridge Corporate Park, as the project would becalled, was rolled out four years ago. It encompasses some 1.5million sf of office space, and while site and infrastructure workis under way, Cedarbridge Development has yet to sign an anchoroffice tenant to begin actual building construction. Observers saythe weak office market is the major reason for that.

The Cedarbridge deal has drawn some criticism, especiallyrelating to the 35-year tax break the company would get once theland is turned over by the city to the developer. And Zucker hassaid publicly that his proposal is not a criticism of Cedarbridge'splan, but simply an alternative.