By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — A major stakeholder in the West Windsor redevelopment plan for the train station area has announced plans to end cooperation with the township.
Intercap Holdings, which owns a 25-acre tract off Washington Road, will submit a request to the Planning Board to rezone the property for 1,440 condominiums and 88,000 square feet of office and retail space, according to a statement.
The announcement comes after a presentation Tuesday night of the latest draft plan left West Windsor divided on how to move forward with redevelopment of the 350-acre area around the Princeton Junction train station.
”In light of last night’s council meeting, we are convinced that the West Windsor Council under (Council President) Charlie Morgan’s leadership will continue to merely engage in an endless series of meetings and studies, while further adding to the township’s bill. . . for studies and professional fees,” according to the statement released Wednesday.
However, Mr. Morgan said redevelopment will occur regardless of the actions of individual property owners. “It’s not his decision,” Mr. Morgan said of Intercap Holdings Chairman Steve Goldin.
While acknowledging that the township remains “a house divided” on redevelopment, he said Mr. Goldin is reacting prematurely, “before the process has had an opportunity to work its way through to a final draft.”
Tuesday night, Eric Jaffe, a representative of architectural design firm RMJM Hillier, presented the draft redevelopment plan to the mayor, council, and a crowd of about 200 in the Grover Middle School theater.
The PowerPoint presentation, which lasted 20 minutes, included redevelopment goals, an overview of the plan, and a slideshow of acclaimed public spaces from around the world.
After the presentation, John Madden, the township’s planning consultant, said the policies in the plan match the original goals of redevelopment, though more work is needed in some areas such as traffic circulation.
”The plan represents a quantum leap in terms of current conditions (around the train station),” he said.
Mr. Madden emphasized that the plan is general, and not an “as-built engineered plan.”
He added, “Each section will be measured and it will be negotiated.”
However, members of West Windsor boards and committees, along with members of the public, addressed competing concerns over traffic congestion, bicycle and pedestrian friendly roads, wetland preservation and parking, among a host of issues.
But most who spoke up supported moving forward with redevelopment in some form.
Councilwoman Linda Geevers said she has received “dozens and dozens” of e-mails from residents since the draft plan was revealed last week. Most want redevelopment on some scale, she said.
”Exactly defining what that scale means changes from person to person,” she said.
Ms. Geevers, along with several other members of council, said she would like to see a lower number of housing units, which Mr. Madden said total 949 units.
Mr. Goldin, the Intercap Holdings chairman, sent a letter to council last week to express his concerns that the draft plan lacked sufficient housing to make the project financially viable.
But council remained concerned about increasing the housing numbers.
”We don’t want to overburden the area in terms of traffic and we don’t want to overburden schools,” Ms. Geevers said.
Councilman Will Anklowitz said there is “way too much housing and not enough emphasis on making Main Street a priority,” in the plan.
”We need to retool this to make a priority of fixing up (Route) 571,” he said.
Council Vice President Heidi Kleinman said that the township has scaled back on the amenities that were to be offered by redevelopment, so housing should be scaled back as well.
”I thought the amenities were driving the 1,000 houses,” she said.
Mr. Morgan proposed at the meeting that the redevelopment plan be broken down into more manageable pieces, beginning with parking garages for West Windsor residents. He has submitted a resolution for Monday’s council meeting to put township professionals to work immediately on a redevelopment plan for the area where the garages would be built.

