The Planning Board granted preliminary approval for a three-story, mixed-use building on a vacant 2.5-acre parcel of land that formerly housed the Trent Motel, a small apartment house and a gasoline station.
By:Jennifer Potash Managing Editor
The Lawrence Township Planning Board gave preliminary approval for the redevelopment of three parcels along Brunswick Pike on Monday.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to grant preliminary site plan approve for Heritage Village at Lawrenceville meaning the application will return at a later date with a more detailed plans, such as the type of tenants in the retail shops. The board also granted the applicant variances for buffer width and a parking lot connection.
About a dozen residents attended the meeting, and while supportive of the plans raised concerns about traffic and parking.
The applicants, Community Investment Strategies Inc. and The Eagle Group, want to redevelop a vacant 2.5-acre parcel that formerly housed the Trent Motel, a three-unit apartment house and a gasoline station. Community Investment Strategies Inc. is based in Bordentown and The Eagle Group is based in Trenton. The township purchased the parcels and plans sell the sites to the developers for about $500,000.
The proposed plan calls for an L-shaped, three-story, mixed-use building with office or retail spaces, a community room, a nurse’s office, a lobby and a pair of two-bedroom rental apartments on the first floor.
The plan also includes 62 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments on the second and third floors. The second and third floors would each contain 31 rental apartments, 27 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units. All of the apartments would be affordable to low- and moderate-income senior citizen households. Those rents would be about $675 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $825 for a two-bedroom apartment. The average age of the residents tend to be in the mid-70s, said Theresa Reed, vice president of Community Investment Strategies.
The bulk of the discussion centered on the traffic plan for site, both the parking design and access to and from Route 1 and from Cherry Tree Lane.
Robert Curley, the traffic engineer, said a number of concept plans and traffic plans were considered before ultimately settling on the proposal to allow right turns from Route 1 into the site and right turns onto Route 1.
There will be a two-way egress from Cherry Tree Lane onto the site, she said.
"I think we’ve done a nice job providing safe access to the property," said Nicholas Verderese, the applicant’s traffic engineer.
The goal was to prevent motorists from trying to access the break in the median to get to the southbound side of Route 1, Mr. Curley said. Also, the one-way driveway into the site from the northbound side of Route 1 would prevent drivers from trying to cut trough the adjacent Slackwood Presbyterian Church property.
The proposal will add more traffic onto Cherry Tree Lane close to the traffic signal at the intersection with Brunswick Pike, Mr. Verderese said. The peak traffic period would be Saturday afternoons, but most traffic queued at the light at Cherry Tree Lane should be able to make the turn in a single cycle, he said.
"But you want to encourage traffic onto Cherry Tree Lane rather than trying to make a left turn from the site onto Route 1," he said.
Planning Board members asked, and the applicant agreed, to limit the number of eating establishments for the proposed 12 retail spaces.
Township planning consultant Philip Caton said the proposed 58 spaces would not be sufficient if the bulk of the retail use was for restaurants, coffee shops or cafes. A total of 104 spaces are proposed for the retail and residential uses.
Planning Board member Nathaniel Moorman said the parking configuration may lead retail customers and the apartment residents to compete for same spaces.
Sid Hofing of the Eagle Group, which is developing the retail portion of the site, said with multiple and visible signs, motorists will find, and use, the appropriate spaces.
While the retail design may change based once prospective tenants are found, the store sizes would average between 1,110 square feet and 1,300 square feet, Mr. Curley said.
The design calls for large display windows and awnings, said David Minno, the project architect and partner of Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners in Lambertville.
In keeping with the goal to encourage more pedestrian access on this stretch of Brunswick Pike, the site offers wide sidewalks surrounding the property and a pedestrian path through the retail section.
Residents did not agree with a suggestion from Mr. Caton, that if the state Department of Transportation approves a realignment of Brunswick Pike, to shift the building closer to roadway.
Gary Saretzky of Trumbull Avenue said he and many of his neighbors long objected to setting the building close to Route 1.
"The other buildings on Route 1 are not set right up against the sidewalk," he said. "That’s too urban a look and would create a canyon effect going down Route 1."
When the applicant returns to the board for final site plan approval, the Planning Board asked for more details on the outdoor lights, width of the sidewalks and a larger area for garbage and recycling receptacles.
Redevelopment of the site is an integral part of the Brunswick South Redevelopment Area. The redevelopment area was created in 1999 by Township Council in an effort to improve the area between Mayflower Avenue and the Brunswick Circle.

