By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
About 50 residents and officials of Hopewell Valley attended a Jan. 20 session at which a Hopewell Township advisory task force aired a mixed-use proposal for the Marshall’s Corner area of the township.
The proposal includes a new community center on land formerly occupied by the Pennytown Shopping Village.
Besides the 25-acre Pennytown tract, the Marshall’s Corner area includes about 100 acres owned by Kooltronic, Inc., which operates a factory off Route 654, opposite Pennytown. Marshall’s Corner also includes the 67-acre Else farm, owned by the township and slated for recreational use.
Not long after buying Pennytown, about a year and a half ago, intending to use it for affordable housing, the township formed the Marshall’s Corner/Pennytown Task Force, chaired now by Ed Truscelli and Elizabeth Ackerman. It was this task force that hosted the Jan. 20 session that focused on the community center idea.
In addition to the community center, housing and commercial uses could be built in the Marshall’s Corner area, which officially has been designated a redevelopment zone.
Members of all three Hopewell Valley municipal governments attended the meeting, as did township police Chief George Meyer, Pennington Police Director William Meytrott, Municipal Alliance Director Heidi Kahme and officers of the Hopewell Valley YMCA. The YMCA has proposed building a community center in northwest Pennington or on the vacant 84 Lumber site, located just south of Marshall’s Corner. Also at the meeting were members of the township’s Senior Advisory Board and Youth Advisory Board.
The community center could serve seniors, teens and families. Larry Mansier, of the Senior Advisory Board, said seniors should have their own portion of the center. “Seniors have different needs and attitudes” from other segments of the population, Mr. Mansier said. “We need our own place.”
Several others made similar comments.
However, several speakers took an opposite view. One of them, Sheila Beyer, said: “I would hate to see the groups (that use the center) segregated.” She and resident Bill Schoelwer noted it would cost a lot to build and operate the center. Noting that economic times are hard, Ms. Beyer said: “Let’s keep our heads together.”
Youth Advisory Board members Natalie Santos and Kelly McDonald, who are students at Central High School, were skeptical that teens would use a center at Marshall’s Corner, which is about a mile from the high school. They said a survey at the high school indicated that a majority of teens favored a center within walking distance of the school. In a brief interview after the meeting adjourned, Natalie and Kelly said teens might use a bus to reach the center if it were a small, jitney-type bus and if the ride were free.
Over the years, local police have backed the idea of a teen center. The idea also has been backed by the Municipal Alliance, which works to discourage substance abuse in young people.
At the Jan. 20 session, Phil Volpe and other officers of the Hopewell Valley YMCA said the notion of a community center at Marshall’s Corner was new to them and that they are interested in participating in dialogue on the topic.
