Bordentown Township Committee gives final approval for construction of the Central Crossings Business Park.
By: William Wichert
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP The Township Committee gave its final approval on Monday for the long-awaited plan to build the Central Crossings Business Park project along Bordentown-Hedding Road near Route 295, officials said.
The application made by KOR Companies of Wall, which proposed building four warehouses on 1.68 million square feet of empty land, was approved by the township Planning Board last fall, but concerns over jurisdiction of the roadways as well as some environmental violations stalled construction for several months.
At a special meeting of the Township Committee on Monday night, committee members approved the developer’s agreement and formalized its construction plans, giving KOR Companies the nod to move forward with the project.
Among other technicalities, the developer’s agreement settles the longstanding debate between the township, the developer and the state Department of Transportation on who would oversee the roadways around the project, said Mayor Gerald Boyer.
The agreement specifies that KOR Companies, which has proposed two other developments in the township, will install the traffic signals and lane markers at the intersection of Rising Sun Road and Bordentown-Hedding Road, but the township will be responsible for maintaining the roadways, Mayor Boyer said.
"We received conflicting information from the state," said Mayor Boyer, who said state officials were originally expected to take full responsibility for the roads, but then refused to do so. DOT officials could not be reached for comment.
"In the scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal," the mayor said. "But we need to know who’s in charge." Mayor Boyer said the state would still get involved with the project, if the development starts to have an adverse effect on traffic in the area.
The approval of the developer’s agreement on Monday comes a few weeks after Burlington County Soil Conservation removed a stop-work order it had placed against the development in March, said Brian Wilson, an inspector with Soil Conservation.
The conservation put the construction of the biggest warehouse on hold until KOR Companies had built the proper storm water detention basins that prevent soil erosion at the nearby Crystal Lake, Mr. Wilson said.
After building the necessary basin, the developer will now be allowed to continue with the overall construction, but it still needs to build more basins before constructing the other warehouses, Mr. Wilson said.
"Work was progressing very slowly," he said. "They had to complete the storm water detention facility, which remained unfinished for months."While the construction of the Central Crossings Business Park gets under way, KOR Companies is expected to return to the township Planning Board on Aug. 12 to present its application to build 91 single-family homeshouses along Route 130 near Highbridge Road.
The developer also is expected to construct a strip mall adjacent to this residential community, but no application has been filed with the township yet. Officials said the township rezoned the area last year to allow KOR Companies to go beyond the allowable density level.