Official discussed senior center idea with Larry Mansier, chairman of the Hopewell Valley Senior Center Planning Committee (HVSCPC) at a meeting Tuesday.
By John Tredrea
Beazer Homes is receptive to the idea of building, at it own expense, a senior citizens center for Valley-wide use on one of the three tracts of land it wants to develop in south-central Hopewell Township.
Beazer has been meeting with neighbors of the three tracts and other township residents for months. The discussions have focused on what amenities Beazer would provide to the township in exchange for being allowed to build more housing units than it would be able to build otherwise.
At a Tuesday night meeting at the township municipal building, Beazer executive Paul Schneier discussed the senior center idea with Larry Mansier, chairman of the Hopewell Valley Senior Center Planning Committee (HVSCPC), and other residents who attended the meeting. About 20 people attended.
The HVSPC has proposed building a $2 million full-service senior center, with parking for at least 100 cars, in the Valley. It should be a publicly owned building, Mr. Mansier said Tuesday night.
Mr. Schneier said Beazer "needs to see a plan" for a senior center before it can decide how many extra units it would need to be allowed to build in order to cover the cost of building the center.
"We need a plan," said Mr. Schneier. "We won’t own the building and we won’t operate it. Who will own and operate it are items that will have to be worked out in a plan." Also needing is a plan for where the building would go.
Mr. Mansier said his group would discuss the idea, both within itself and with municipal officials. The HVSCPC already has made presentations to the Hopewell Township Committee and Hopewell Borough Council and is expected to meet with the Pennington Borough Council Monday.
Also at Monday night’s meeting, Mr. Schneier, who is president of Beazer’s New Jersey and Pennsylvania operations, estimated it would be three years before "the first shovel" of work was done at any of the three Beazer sites.
Beazer already has said that if it is permitted to build 490 homes on the three southern Hopewell Township tracts, it would provide sewer lines for several township neighborhoods, including Diverty Road, Indian Village and Orchard and Crest avenues and Plymouth Street. Beazer also would build a cul-de-sac at the eastern end of Diverty, at Route 31. That intersection has been the scene of numerous traffic accidents, several of them involving fatalities, over the years.
Mr. Schneier estimated that, under current zoning for the two largest tracts and a possible zoning change to the smallest of the three tracts, his firm could build 350 residences on the three tracts. Giving Beazer a density bonus that would allow the firm to build about 140 extra homes would enable the firm to make enough profit to enable it to provide sewer lines, cul-de-sacs and other amenities at its own expense. Presumably a greater density bonus would be needed to cover the cost of building a senior center.
"In our mind, 350 units is the starting point," Mr. Schneier said. "To the extent that you want us to solve problems, we need a density bonus."
Beazer owns 22 acres off the northbound side of Route 31, near Denow Road. It is the contract purchaser of the 70-acre Weidel tract, off the southbound side opposite Denow Road, and the 70-acre Hutchinson-Zeitz tract, off the southbound side behind the ShopRite, which is at the Pennington Circle.