Cranford Planning Board continues hearing on sports-training facility after park­ing and plan gaps

The Cranford Planning Board on June 4 continued a hearing on an application by Cranford Performance Institute LLC to convert a one‑story commercial building at 140 Bridal/Bryant Avenue into an indoor sports training facility, after board members and professionals flagged multiple outstanding items including a major parking shortfall, missing full‑size plan sheets and incomplete lighting and ADA documentation.

The board set a continuation for 7:30 p.m. on July 16, 2025, and directed the applicant to submit full‑size architectural sheets and revised site plans addressing Development Review Committee items, lighting, accessible routes and landscaping before the continued hearing. Chair Miss Kellett, chair of the Cranford Planning Board, announced the continuance at the meeting.

Why it matters: The project proposes an indoor training center for youth sports that the applicant says will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and serve Cranford residents. The facility design and operational plan are central to whether the board will grant vehicle‑parking relief and site exceptions; neighbors raised safety and traffic concerns during the hearing.

Applicant testimony and operations Attorney Matt Gilson, representing the applicant, described the proposal as a minor site plan with C(2) variance relief and said the applicant is seeking interior renovations to create a recreational facility. Gilson also identified witnesses the applicant planned to call, including the operator and owner, Greg Wofsy; project manager/designer Brian Petrucci; and engineer John Dunlea.

Greg Wofsy, who testified as a fact witness and identified himself as the managing member of the applicant LLC, said Cranford Performance Institute is intended for individualized training in baseball, softball and golf. Wofsy said hours would be 9 a.m.–9 p.m., seven days a week, and that the business would employ four people, including his wife. "Cranford Performance Institute was designed, really for individualized training," Wofsy said, adding that sessions would be coached and often used as drop‑offs rather than spectator events.

Wofsy described the interior layout presented on the applicant's plans as two pitching tunnels,…