MARLBORO — A pedestrian-friendly community is being planned for the residential portion of the redevelopment of the former Entron property. The Marlboro Planning Board began hearing testimony for site plan approval on the residential portion of the site during its Feb. 16 meeting.
Municipal officials approved a redevelopment plan for the 18-acre Entron property in May 2010. The plan provides for a residential component and a commercial component on the property.
The residential section, to be called Camelot at Marlboro, is included in the township’s affordable housing plan. The plan permits 200 market rate apartments and 50 apartments to be rented to individuals of all ages in accordance with regional affordable housing guidelines.
The Entron property is at the corner of Route 79 and Beacon Hill Road. Plans for the apartments show that access will be from Route 79 and not from Beacon Hill Road.
Architect Perry Morgan, representing the applicant, Jason Kaplan, said the developer made an effort to design a pedestrianfriendly site, planning open space first and then designing the buildings.
Morgan said there will be plenty of green space on the property and he said each building will have access to a sidewalk that would connect the buildings throughout the complex.
The architect said the affordable housing units would be grouped together closer to Beacon Hill Road. Those apartments would range from one to three bedrooms. A garage would be available for about half of those apartments.
Kaplan said the garages would be assigned to what are termed the moderate priced affordable housing units.
For the market rate apartments, one to two bedrooms would be available and garages would be negotiated into certain leases.
Attorney Gerald Sonnenblick, representing the applicant, said the reason the affordable housing units would be separated from the market rate apartments is due to financing, which he said would be easier to obtain if the two types of units are on separate lots.
Camelot at Marlboro will also include a clubhouse with space for meeting rooms, an exercise room and a lounge area. Kaplan said the clubhouse would be open to all residents of the development.
Morgan pointed to the design of the buildings which have architectural details so that all of the sides of the buildings do not look plain.
Instead of a bank of metal mailboxes in the open that is found in some apartment complexes, Morgan designed a covering for the mailbox area which he said would be placed in the “town green.”
Engineer William Wentzien, representing the applicant, said the property will have 498 parking spaces. He said that exceeds the 492 parking spaces that are required by the municipal ordinance.
The construction of the residential development is expected to be completed in three phases if the plan receives municipal approval.
A buffer will separate the commercial and residential sections of the Entron property. No plans for the development of the commercial section have been submitted to the township.
Testimony on the Camelot at Marlboro application is scheduled to continue at the board’s March 16 meeting.