Hillier makes pitch for 55-plus project
By Nick Norlen
Staff Writer
Architect and developer J. Robert Hillier surprised some members of the Princeton Township Committee on Monday by appearing with a pitch for an age-restricted housing project on the Bunn Drive site abandoned by developer K. Hovnanian in October 2006.
Representing his personal development company, Mr. Hillier told the committee the intent of his presentation was to gauge its support for reducing the minimum age requirement for senior housing in the township from 62 to 55 — a change he said is absolutely necessary to make the project feasible.
If granted the change, Mr. Hillier said he would create a site plan featuring a cluster of 140 housing units on only one-third of the land that would have been built in the Hovnanian project.
While no formal action was taken Monday, the committee members indicated that they might be flexible in pursuing such a change.
The Hovnanian project was one of two in the works in the township’s two senior overlay zones — on Bunn Drive and Mount Lucas Road — approved by the Township Committee in 2001 to facilitate senior housing projects.
As part of his pitch for a change in the age requirement, Mr. Hillier said there are only two 62-and-over senior housing projects in the state, both of which he said are unsuccessful.
But his Monday presentation comes approximately three months after the township approved 49 units of 62-and-over senior housing on the Mount Lucas Road overlay zone by Princeton Senior Townhomes.
However, Township Attorney Edwin Schmierer said during Monday’s discussion that the developer has neither taken action nor been in contact with the township since the approval was granted.
According to Mr. Hillier, the possible hurdles that most credit for Hovnanian’s departure from the site — construction costs and a poor housing market — could be overcome by concentrating the project into a smaller area and, more importantly, marketing the units to residents 55 and older.
Although he noted Wednesday that Hovnanian had full approval for construction that would all but cover the site, Mr. Hillier said his project would resemble a “closely knit village” of 140 three-story, two-bedroom units that could range from $350,000 to $400,000.
With its proposed underground garage, his project would entail only 45,000 square feet of paving, compared to the 120,000 featured in the Hovnanian plan, Mr. Hillier said.
Nevertheless, he said his contract with the site owners, the Lowe family, is contingent on the reduction of required age.
”I don’t mean that as a threat, that’s just the terms of the contract,” he said.
Mr. Hillier said his insistence on a reduced age requirement is due to the fact that units limited to buyers 62 and older would take significantly longer to sell than those marketed to those as young as 55 — causing ballooning costs over the span of the project.
In addition, he said “banks are very, very wary about lending any developer any money on a 62-and-over project.”
Although Mr. Schmierer said that the 55-and-over rule allows units to be marketed to anyone once 80 percent of the units are occupied by residents 55 and older, Mr. Hillier said he would devote the entire project to senior housing.
”There’s a need for senior housing here,” he said, citing research that shows a demand in the area. “There’s no place for someone to downsize and still live here.”
Although Mr. Hillier said he was looking for an indication of the committee’s flexibility before moving ahead to the planning board process — when residents would be involved — Committeeman Chad Goerner said public input should be garnered before that.
”I think there are plenty of concerns in the community and I think we need to weigh those,” he said, noting that the public should be notified of further discussion. “We saw one side of the equation (tonight).”
Another side of the equation could come in the form of opposition from those who have environmental concerns about the site.
In recent months, Princeton’s joint Environmental Commission asked the Township Committee to rescind the Bunn Drive overlay zone, stating that the housing element of the Master Plan is inconsistent with its environmental protections.
Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand acknowledged the potential opposition Monday.
”We have to be honest with ourselves and realize that there will be people coming in and telling us not to develop the site at all,” she said.
Nevertheless, committee members indicated interest in Mr. Hillier’s proposal, which included environmentally conscious aspects such as sod roofs.
”I think that this is the kind of project that the Princetons need,” said Committeewoman Victoria Bergman. “I think our community has made it clear that senior housing is a priority.”
While Regional Planning Director Lee Solow said he saw many advantages over the Hovnanian plan, he cautioned the committee about changing the age requirement without knowing what the final site plan — Mr. Hillier’s or otherwise — will ultimately look like.
”It’s a lovely picture,” he said of Mr. Hillier’s plan. “But if you make a change (to the age requirement), there’s no guarantee … that that’s what you’ll get.”
Mr. Solow also recommended that the committee consider other potential changes to the overlay, such as mandating clustered housing.
Mr. Schmierer said any changes would most likely be decided over multiple work sessions.

