Route 1 redevelopment future focus of meeting

Topics included redevelopment along a portion of Brunswick Pike – also known as Business Route 1 – between the Brunswick Circle and Mayflower Avenue.

By: Lea Kahn
   New Jersey Future representatives met with Mayor Michael Powers and a handful of elected and appointed Lawrence officials Monday afternoon to discuss economic growth, including the redevelopment of Brunswick Pike.
   The meeting grew from Gov. Jon Corzine’s economic growth strategy, unveiled in September. New Jersey Future, a nonprofit group, was asked by the governor’s office to meet with municipalities along the Route 1 corridor to find out how the state can help them deal with transportation and work force housing issues.
   George Hawkins, executive director of New Jersey Future, told Mayor Powers and municipal officials the group expects to deliver a report on its findings to Gov. Corzine in December or January.
   "We are not municipal planners or developers and we have no financial stake (in it)," Mr. Hawkins told the officials. "We want to know what’s on your mind and what the state can do to help."
   Mayor Powers said Lawrence officials are interested in economic redevelopment, especially along a portion of Brunswick Pike — also known as Business Route 1 — between the Brunswick Circle and Mayflower Avenue. It is the focal point of the township’s Brunswick Pike South Redevelopment Area, he said.
   The former Trent Motel site on Brunswick Pike is poised to be redeveloped into a 64-unit affordable housing complex for senior citizens, along with retail and office spaces on the ground floor of the building, the mayor said. Officials hope the project will spark other redevelopment projects in the future, he said.
   Councilwoman Pam Mount told Mr. Hawkins township officials have been frustrated in their effort to turn a one-mile portion of Brunswick Pike, also between the Brunswick Circle and Mayflower Avenue, into a tree-lined boulevard.
   Township officials had been working with the state Department of Transportation, which controls Brunswick Pike, to turn control of the road over to Lawrence, Ms. Mount said. The DOT also was set to begin engineering designs to convert the road into a boulevard, but progress halted during the transition from acting Gov. Richard J. Codey to Gov. Corzine, she said.
   "There are 6,000 people that live on both sides of Brunswick Pike," the councilwoman said. "We don’t want our housing to go down the tubes, like Trenton. We have been working so hard on this (redevelopment plan)."
   Ms. Mount also pointed out that Lawrence has achieved a balance between providing housing and jobs. Most towns import housing, she said, and export jobs to other communities. Lawrence wants to keep its residents in town and not to commute to jobs in northern New Jersey, she added.
   Ms. Mount also suggested redeveloping the former American Cyanamid site — opposite the Quaker Bridge Mall in West Windsor Township — into offices for the state Department of Health and Department of Agriculture. The buildings the state offices presently occupy in Trenton could be redeveloped, she said.
   West Windsor Township had entertained a proposal from the Rouse Co. to redevelop the former American Cyanamid site into a mixed-use site — an upscale shopping center that would have included the Nordstrom department store, and a residential component. But the upscale chain store now plans to open a store in the remodeled Quaker Bridge Mall.
   Township officials also are interested in the planned redevelopment of the Quaker Bridge Mall by its owners, the Simon Property Group of Indiana, Mayor Powers told Mr. Hawkins.
   Township planning consultant Philip Caton, who attended the Monday afternoon meeting, told Mr. Hawkins township officials are examining the development of bicycle or pedestrian paths to link nearby housing developments with the Quaker Bridge Mall.
   The concept of a Bus Rapid Transit program, which would provide increased bus service along Route 1, also was discussed. A BRT system would allow employees to park their cars at a central location and ride a bus to work — an initiative that Gov. Corzine favors, Mr. Hawkins said.
   A BRT system might allow the township to encourage high-density redevelopment along Route 1, Ms. Mount said. She suggested creating a parallel roadway to the west of Route 1 to allow access to businesses along the roadway, freeing it up for the BRT.
   Mayor Powers and Councilman Greg Puliti agreed that before implementing a BRT, it would be a good idea to take a survey and find out who would use the system. The BRT is just a concept at this point, they said.