A family-owned nursery and garden center in Freehold Township is selling 128 acres of land to one of the largest homebuilding companies in the nation, paving the way for a sprawling subdivision and affordable housing development.
The Brock Farms property at the intersection of Monmouth Road and Siloam Road is slated to be purchased by Hovnanian Enterprises, according to a purchase agreement.
The open space will be turned into a subdivision called the Preserve at Freehold, with 128 single family rate market homes and 32 duplex affordable homes, according to planning documents and sources familiar with the agreement.
“The purchase agreement was entered into in the spring of 2022,” said Michael Weisslitz, division president at K. Hovnanian Northeast Division.
Weisslitz said the sale is pending and the company has yet to close on the property.
The agreement includes five lots on Block 91 in Freehold Township. Property records show the lots are owned by E. Brock Limited Partnership and E. Brock Limited, based in Colts Neck.
Ed Brock Jr., Linda Brock and Ed Brock Sr. are the longtime owners of Brock Farms Nursery and Garden Center, a Freehold-based, family-owned plant nursery and garden center with a second location in Colts Neck, according to the Brock Farms website.
Brock Farms’ Freehold location on Route 9 is at a separate location and is not part of the sale with Hovnanian Enterprises.
The owners did not respond to multiple requests to comment.
Hovnanian Enterprises designs, constructs and markets housing in 128 communities in 14 states, according to its website. The company’s homes are marketed and sold under the trade name K. Hovnanian Homes. It’s among the largest homebuilding firms in the country, with a total revenue of $2.92 billion in 2022, according to the company.
K. Hovnanian has housing developments throughout New Jersey, including projects in Asbury Park, Far Hills, Farmingdale, Howell, Manalapan, Morris Township, Wall and Wharton.
If approved, the Preserve at Freehold would be K. Hovnanian’s second housing development in Freehold in recent years. The company also built the Brooks at Freehold on Three Brooks Road, which features 51 single-family homes. The development began selling units in December 2023.
The proposed subdivision on Monmouth Road and Siloam Road would also help the township meet its obligation to provide affordable housing.
In 2020, Freehold adopted an ordinance to help meet its affordable housing obligations. Officials identified the Brock’s parcel at the corner of Route 537, otherwise known as Monmouth Road, and Siloam Road as one of the possible locations for affordable housing.
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The application for the Brock Farm subdivision is under review by the planning board, said Weisslitz, the division president of K. Hovnanian Northeast Division.
Hovnanian had not received a date to appear before the planning board as of last week, Weisslitz said.
The subdivision must also be approved by the Monmouth County Development Review Committee. It has the authority to review all major subdivisions in Monmouth County and site plans affecting county roads and drainage facilities or properties owned or maintained by the county.
Located in Monmouth County, Freehold Township is crisscrossed by several major highways, including Route 9 and Route 33. The township is home to the Freehold Raceway and the Freehold Raceway Mall, the state’s third-largest mall.