Johnson Avenue proposal stirs objections from neighborhood

Residents seem to agree with the need for more affordable housing in the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood. But a proposals for affordable units on township-owned land has sparked some opposition.

By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Few people would dispute the need for affordable housing or the desire to revitalize the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood, but a proposal to build affordable houses on Lawrence Township-owned land on Johnson Avenue has generated opposition.
   The Lawrence chapter of the League of Women Voters sponsored a forum Dec. 1 to explore the possibility of developing the 3.5-acre parcel of land that drew about two dozen people — virtually all of whom opposed the proposal.
   Township officials, meanwhile, have said there are no plans to develop the site. There is no development application on file — or pending — at the Community Development Department, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said Monday.
   At the forum, LWV member Doris Weisberg told the audience that the Lawrence chapter of the LWV is interested in the issue of providing affordable housing for all segments of the population in Lawrence.
   "Too many of our young people can’t afford to move back into Lawrence, and that is what we are looking at," said Ms. Weisberg, who served on Township Council from 2000-03 and who is a former mayor.
   Harold Vereen, president of the Eggerts Crossing Civic League, outlined a 2002 study prepared by Rutgers University graduate students for a class project that offered some suggestions to revitalize the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood. The area is bounded by Eggerts Crossing Road, Drift Avenue, Johnson Avenue and the Ewing Township border.
   One of those suggestions called for building new houses on vacant lots in the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood, Mr. Vereen said. The township-owned lot was mentioned in the Rutgers University students’ report.
   Last year, the Eggerts Crossing Civic League rolled out a proposal that would have Isles Inc. — a Trenton-based, nonprofit housing group — build single-family houses on the 3.5-acre lot.
   At the forum, Patrick Durkin, vice president of real estate development for Isles, said the original intent was to create 16 affordable single-family detached houses. The discovery of wetlands changed the project so that only nine houses could be built on the land, he said.
   Based on economics, only four of the nine houses would be affordable units, Mr. Durkin said. The remaining five units would be sold at market-rate prices. The affordable units would cost an estimated $112,000 to $150,000 each, depending on the buyer’s income, he said. The market rate units would be priced at $245,000.
   Isles’ proposed houses would be about 1,600 to 1,800 square feet, he said. About two blocks away on Drift Avenue, several new houses under construction are much larger, he said. They are priced at around $400,000 each.
   "We are trying to meet the need for housing for the teacher, the police officer and the day-care center worker who is priced out of the (housing) market," Mr. Durkin said. "Isles thinks this is an opportunity to create a model for market-rate units that are still affordable."
   Susan Deckert, a Hamilton resident who attended the forum, suggested a cluster development — building more houses, but on smaller lots. This would enable Isles to build more houses and sell them at a lower price, she said.
   Ed Caldwell, vice president of the Eggerts Crossing Civic League, said a cluster development was not considered because the group wants to maintain the "flavor" of the community. The group is concerned that the neighborhood could become "overcrowded" with too many houses, he said.
   When another resident suggested building duplex units, Mr. Vereen said the civic league recently opposed a plan to build a duplex unit on Eggerts Crossing Road. The application was approved by the township Planning Board last month.
   If a developer owned the lot, the number of housing units to be built would be based on economics — but that is not what the community wants, Mr. Durkin said.
   Alcazar Avenue resident Clay Ervin, who does not favor developing the site, asked whether this is what the community really wants. He suggested the site remain undeveloped or be turned into a community garden.
   Mr. Ervin pointed to the recent sale of a house on Arcadia Avenue. The house was sold for $108,000 and then the new owner made a few improvements and sold it for $180,000, he said.
   "The neighborhood is being revitalized naturally, by people coming into the neighborhood," Mr. Ervin said, adding that he objects to plans to develop the township-owned parcel because it was purchased for open space preservation purposes.
   Mr. Durkin said 64 people have contacted Isles to express interest in the potential development. There are typically more interested persons than there are available units, he said.
   Fred Vereen, who lives on Cheverly Road, countered that the neighborhood’s recent revitalization is partly the result of VMZ Associates’ efforts to redevelop the neighborhood in the 1980s.
   VMZ Associates, whose principals were Mr. Vereen, realtor Joseph Martin and architect John Zvosec, sold the Johnson Avenue lot to Lawrence Township in 1996 after several failed attempts to develop it.
   "The community needs revitalization," said Mr. Vereen. "You see things that are happening there today because of what VMZ Associates started. We built four houses, but nobody would buy them because of the image of Eggerts Crossing. We almost had to give them away."
   Mr. Vereen credited the Eggerts Crossing Civic League and the Rutgers University graduate students’ study for the recent efforts to breathe new life into the neighborhood.