Mayor updates local business leaders on project.
By: Lea Kahn
Plans for a revised Brunswick Pike in the Brunswick Pike Redevelopment Area may get another look over the coming weeks, Mayor Pam Mount told the Lawrence Chapter of the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday morning.
Township and state Department of Transportation officials expect to meet to discuss the proposed roadway improvements, Mayor Mount said. A public meeting to discuss the plans is slated for May, she said.
The Brunswick Pike Redevelopment Area is located between Mayflower Avenue and the Brunswick Circle.
"The redevelopment of Route 1 is moving ahead," the mayor told the 30 or so business leaders who attended the meeting at the Green Acres Country Club. "It’s very exciting."
The retail shopping strips along Route 1 are prospering, Mayor Mount said. A new ice cream store opened at the Mercer Mall on Saturday, and the new owners of the mall are planning to redesign the shopping center, she said.
On the other side of Route 1, she said, the owners of the Quaker Bridge Mall also are preparing to announce plans for a "big" renovation to the indoor shopping mall. The retail side of business in Lawrence is doing well, she added.
Mayor Mount also introduced newly appointed Township Historian Robert Immordino to the business leaders. Mr. Immordino is interested in how businesses fit into the history of the township, she said, adding that he worked closely with Cooper Pest Control to create a display of the history of its building and the Lawrence Station Road neighborhood’s history.
Mr. Immordino also worked with PNC Bank on a display of its history, she said. The bank is located in a historic building on the corner of Main Street and Lawrenceville-Pennington Road, which had been a tavern in the 19th century.
Mayor Mount pointed to a map she brought to the breakfast meeting, which listed all of the land that has been preserved for open space in Lawrence Township. About 25 percent of the township land has been preserved by the township, Mercer County or private owners through programs such as the Farmland Preservation Program, according to the map.
"Although we want businesses to succeed and draw people to Lawrence, we have to live here and we need to preserve the environment," Mayor Mount said. "It’s a quality-of-life issue. We have a lot of preserved land. It’s really a great accomplishment."
Acknowledging businesses’ growing dependence on employees whose native language is not English, Mayor Mount said she is working on a plan with Mercer County Community College to offer English language lessons in Lawrence.
Mayor Mount, who co-owns Terhune Orchard with her husband, Gary Mount, said English language lessons have been offered to the employees for several years. It’s hard for a small business that employs a handful of people to offer those lessons, she said, adding that she wants to work with county officials to offer them.
Finally, Mayor Mount announced plans to create the William Guhl Fund as part of the Lawrence Township Community Foundation. It will honor Mr. Guhl, who is retiring in June after 13 years as the municipal manager. He was formerly Mercer County administrator and also served as the business administrator for Trenton.
The Lawrence Township Community Foundation gives grants to nonprofit groups, Mayor Mount said. Much of its funding is generated by donations from the Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. and the Educational Testing Service.
The plan is to raise about $100,000 for the new William Guhl Fund, she said.