Developer targets Evans tract off Federal City Road
Lea Kahn
The developer of the Pennington Point and Lawrenceville Point senior citizen housing developments has proposed construction of a similar development on the 37.2-acre Evans Tract, off Federal City Road near the Interstate Highway 295 ramp.
Pennington Properties Development Corp. Inc., based in Pennington, submitted an application for final and preliminary site plan approval for the Federal Point subdivision this week. Township officials have not yet reviewed it, and no date has been set for a public hearing.
The Pennington Properties proposed development is the latest in a series of proposed senior citizen housing projects. The Planning Board has begun its review of Carriage Walk, the 212-unit age-restricted development on the site of the former Lawrence Drive-In on Route 1.
The Evans Tract will be divided into three lots for separate uses — attached single-family houses and a clubhouse, an office building and an assisted living/independent living facility.
The plan calls for constructing 72 attached single-family houses in a so-called “active adult neighborhood” on a 23.28-acre lot. They will be built in quadraplexes, similar to the units in the Pennington Point development in Pennington Borough and the Lawrenceville Point development off Bunker Hill Road. A clubhouse also is planned for the active adult neighborhood.
The three-story assisted living/independent living facility will contain 130 beds. It is planned for a 10.84-acre lot. There will be parking for 60 cars. Although the building is geared toward residents who need help with the day-to-day tasks of living, there will be rooms for those who do not need the extra help.
The plan also shows a 10,000-square-foot building offering medical offices, facility management and administration activities on a 3.09-acre lot. There will be parking for 42 cars.
The entrance to the proposed development will be located near the New Jersey District Council Assemblies of God offices, off Federal City Road. The tract is adjacent to the Federal Hill single-family-house subdivision.
The land is zoned Residential-1, but Township Council amended the 1997 Land Use Ordinance last year to allow for a Senior Citizen Residential overlay. The R-1 zone permits single-family houses. The SCR overlay means it can be developed for single-family houses or for senior citizen housing.
In making his pitch to rezone the land last year, developer Peter Blicher said the concept is to allow the residents to “age in place.” As they become older, the residents may need more help. That aid will be available in the assisted living facility, he told Township Council.
Township officials are aware of the need for senior citizens housing. A series of meetings was held last year to review the status of approved and proposed developments. The sessions were held at the Lawrence Senior Center on Darrah Lane East.