Less housing among options for transit village plan

Hillier Architecture prepares for various approaches

By: Greg Forester
   WEST WINDSOR — Representatives from Hillier Architecture plan to unveil variations on plans for the West Windsor Transit Village on Monday, which officials hope could satisfy residents’ requests for reduced density.
   While previous plans had as many as 1,000 dwellings in the transit village, the variations to be presented Monday could include possibilities for 750, 500, and 250 units, according to Bradley Walters, a senior designer for Hillier Architecture’s special projects team. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Grover Middle School.
   "We pride ourselves on collaboration with our clients," said Mr. Walters. "What they want, what they dream, what they need … we value those types of relationships with our clients."
   Mr. Walters, acknowledging that the number of housing units is a source of debate in both the community and was a major issue in the recent council election, said the transit village project is still in the planning stages and changes could still be made without being a major departure from the project.
   The issue of 1,000 housing units was a contentious one during the Township Council election, during which candidates Charles Morgan, Will Anklowitz and George Borek won seats on Township Council after making the scale of the development a focus of their campaign.
   Despite the stance of the winning candidates and their supporting constituents, Hillier Architecture officials said they purposefully left plenty of time within the planning stages to hash out the desires of the community, including density and the number of units.
   Other design firms interested in the project had allowed for as little as a week for public input into the project, but Hillier had allowed for several months of public input, Mr. Walters said.
   Hillier Architecture officials said they also plan to unveil other amenities they would like to include in the project, including a pedestrian walkway leading from parking decks on the north side of the tracks to the northbound platform.
   Members of the public had previously expressed concern that the location of the parking deck across the tracks from the New York-bound platform would cause considerable delay to their commute.
   "We understand that commuters have their commute time down to a science," said Mr. Walters. "This type of walkway should help reduce disruptions to their commute time."
   After determining the wants of the community, Hillier officials said they hope to go before the West Windsor Planning Board in September and the Township Council in October for official approvals.