By Greg Forester / Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — A capacity crowd of more than 100 residents heard consultants Monday review a redevelopment plan put together by InterCap Holdings Chairman Steve Goldin, who is now claiming that his company’s continued participation in the project is being threatened by politics.
Mr. Goldin, who owns 25 prime acres within the township’s 350-acre redevelopment zone, has spent millions on public outreach and a team of planners to put together the plan.
Last week, he accused council members of plotting to slow down or stop redevelopment through a decision to site housing on parcels other than InterCap’s. According to Mr. Goldin, such a decision would undermine the plan’s financial viability and force InterCap’s exit, further stalling the township’s lengthy and contentious redevelopment process.
Council President Charlie Morgan has readily admitted that a bloc of council members support moving housing elsewhere in the redevelopment area. The basis for that sentiment was a desire to ensure mixed uses throughout the redevelopment zone and not just on the InterCap site, Mr. Morgan said.
But Mr. Goldin says that the move is based solely on political considerations, and that West Windsor is beginning to take notice.
"In the next few months people will understand Charlie Morgan’s hidden political agenda and why he is ignoring the unanimous support for the InterCap plan by all of the township’s consultants," said Mr. Goldin. "Charlie Morgan is putting his personal agenda ahead of my fellow residents’ stated desire for a better West Windsor."
Mr. Morgan sharply disputed Mr. Goldin’s statements. "We did what Mr. Goldin requested, we reviewed his concepts," he said. "That review was conducted by our consultants, not me."
Residents with differing views on redevelopment came in droves Monday to hear the review, following a public exchange between Mr. Goldin and Mr. Morgan.
A majority wore "Support Main Street 2008" stickers that were distributed by InterCap employees on hand for the start of Monday’s six-hour meeting. The audience was subjected to a lengthy meeting that showed little evidence of the underlying controversy and brought no resolution to the dispute between Mr. Goldin and some on council.
The redevelopment discussion centered on two presentations by planner John Madden and traffic expert Gary Davies on InterCap’s ideas about land uses and a road system in the redevelopment zone.
The InterCap plan calls for a new street grid in the redevelopment zone, along with some public spaces, 450 market-rate condos and townhouses, 152 affordable homes, and 250 senior condos. Portions of the area would also be the site of 750,000 square feet of office and 291,000 square feet of retail.
Both men seemed to signal their general approval of some of the key planning decisions made in the InterCap scheme.
"InterCap has created a sense of place here, which I believe is what West Windsor is seeking to achieve," said Mr. Madden. "The InterCap site is the key to making redevelopment work."
Like Mr. Goldin, Mr. Madden said InterCap’s Washington Road site was well suited for the bulk of the housing units, and could be a first phase of construction in the township’s final redevelopment plan. He based those suggestions on the large size of InterCap property’s and single-entity ownership, which made its development simpler than many other parcels in the 350 acres.
Regarding the road system, Mr. Davies suggested a different road alignment than what was originally called for in plans from both InterCap and planning firm RMJM Hillier, which remains involved in the process.
The new alignment had a "transportation corridor" near the path of a yet to be built roadway known as the Vaughn Drive Connector road, running from Alexander Road near Old Bear Brook Road, past the train station area, and through the northernmost portions of the InterCap site.
That alignment would allow regional traffic to get past the train station area and through West Windsor in a more efficient way than was suggested in earlier plans, according to Mr. Davies.
Following the lengthy presentations, some of the residents who sat through the hours-long meeting spoke their minds on redevelopment, with many expressing frustration.
Resident Bryan Maher said township officials were making a mistake in moving forward with redevelopment without securing the involvement of entities owning crucial portions of the 350 acres.
"None of this is going to happen until someone comes out and says NJ Transit is on board," Mr. Maher said.
John Church of Princeton Place said an increase in traffic was a great concern for residents.
"It is intuitively obvious that we’re going to have a huge traffic impact," Mr. Church said.
When resident Sandra Duffy encouraged Township Council to move the project to its conclusion, council members told her that the comment period was only for specific comments on traffic circulation and other aspects of the earlier presentations.
"Circulation? Well, I think this project has circulated around the council long enough," said Ms. Duffy, eliciting scattered applause from audience members.

