One of New Jersey’s oldest motorsports raceways could be redeveloped to make way for hundreds of affordable housing units.
Old Bridge Raceway Park, a nationally known motorsports complex in Middlesex County, is one of three sites township officials have identified to help meet its court-mandated affordable housing obligations.
The 534-acre property, located in the Englishtown section of the township, opened in 1965 and has long been used for racing and entertainment.
According to township documents, 29 parcels in the southeastern portion of the site are now being considered for a 600-unit affordable housing development.
Alongside housing, the plan also calls for a mix of retail and commercial uses, while preserving parts of the airpark and existing motorsports facilities.
Raceway Park, founded by the Napp family, once featured two dragstrips, multiple motocross tracks, a road course, go-kart racing and more. It became nationally known as a longtime host of the NHRA Summernationals, an annual drag racing competition.
It was also known around New Jersey for its iconic “Raceway Park!” television and radio commercials that featured fast cars and loud music.
The Napp family announced the end of drag racing at the park in 2018, citing rising costs that had become unaffordable for its mostly amateur racing crowd. The drag strip was later converted into an outdoor concert venue, while the rest of the property remains in use for motocross, go-karts, flea markets and other events.
In May 2023, the Old Bridge Township Council approved an ordinance to rezone a portion of the raceway for single-family homes, according to officials. The Napp family, which owns the site, sued the township, arguing the zoning change would strip them of their ability to use the land.
As part of ongoing settlement talks, both sides agreed to explore redevelopment options. In response, the planning board passed a resolution at its June 26 meeting to begin the process of determining whether the raceway qualifies as an “area in need of redevelopment.”
The Napp family and their attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.
The push to redevelop Raceway Park comes as Old Bridge, like other towns across New Jersey, faces mounting pressure to meet state-mandated affordable housing requirements. Under a controversial directive, municipalities across the state must add or rehabilitate more than 146,000 affordable housing units by 2035. Old Bridge is expected to contribute 673 units over the next decade.
The township council filed a court appeal against the state last month challenging that number, according to local officials.
Old Bridge Township Council President Mary Sohor declined to comment on the township’s affordable housing plans Friday due to the pending lawsuit.
However, at the meeting in which the Raceway Park resolution was passed, planning board members said the affordable housing requirements are pushing the township toward overdevelopment. They called the state’s obligations unfair.
“If it were up to me, I’d put up a ‘closed for building’ sign in this town,” board member Erik DePalma said. “It’s disgusting. If we don’t comply, we get sued. So in the end, we really don’t have a choice.”
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