House Of Worship Plan At Former Route 22 Site Gets Approval In Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Liquid Church got approval to repurpose an existing office building at 430 Route 22 East in Bridgewater into a house of worship.

The Bridgewater Township Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the plan at its Sept. 8 meeting.

Liquid Church, a non-profit, non-denominational religious organization, plans to convert the office building into a house of worship to be used for religious activities on Sundays and Christian holidays.

The property includes a three-story office building, 456 on-site parking spaces, six additional spaces under an easement on an adjacent lot, existing lighting, sidewalks, landscaping and a stormwater pond.

Engineer Bryan Wild said the proposal calls for exterior and interior renovations to convert the office building into a house of worship.

He testified there is "a three-story building addition that has a footprint of 185 feet and serves as a staircase for building egress."

He said that area is now an existing patio, so there would be no net increase in impervious coverage.

On drainage, Wild said Langan inspected the site in June and "did not observe any issues with the existing stormwater infrastructure."

He said existing drainage patterns would remain and that the proposed changes "will not adversely affect runoff, ponding or drainage conditions on the site or on adjacent properties."

During questioning from board professionals, Wild said the applicant would make repairs if needed and agreed to provide annual certification that stormwater facilities are being maintained.

Architect Michael Hughes also described interior renovations needed to convert the office building into a house of worship.

Hughes testified the work would be "almost entirely to the interior except for the addition of a new stair tower" and the infill of a small recessed second-floor area already under roof.

He said the worship space was placed on the second floor because the parking lot aligns with that level and because removing part of the third floor was the simpler structural solution.

Hughes testified that the worship area would seat 940 people with flat-floor and tiered stadium seating.

He said the second floor would also include children’s spaces, bathrooms, a coffee prep area and a grand stair connecting the three levels.

On the first floor, he said existing conference rooms would remain, some would be converted to storage, and the kitchen would be redesigned for coffee, snacks and reheating catered meals for occasional events.

Hughes also testified the fitness center would remain for staff use and supervised church programming.

Planner Sean Moransky testified the property is in the C-3 office and service zone, where a house of worship is a conditional use.

He said the application required a D3 conditional use variance because existing front and side yard setbacks do not meet the ordinance standard, though those setbacks are not being changed by the project.

Before voting, conditions were outlined, including replacing dead or dying landscaping to the satisfaction of township professionals, repairs and annual certification for the stormwater system, a new NJDOT access permit because the use is changing, police traffic assistance for larger assemblies if needed, no videos on the LED sign, and a programmable display that may not change any sooner than every 15 seconds.

The board then voted to approve the application.

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