An extended-stay hotel is a step closer to fruition after receiving approval from the Edison Zoning Board of Adjustment last week.
Applicant Edison Enterprises was granted a use variance and bulk variances for issues such as height and signage for a hotel to be called The Home, a Hilton brand. The hotel would be located on New Durham Road near Interstate 287. During an April 14 zoning board hearing on the application, Edison Enterprises presented several experts to discuss the proposed project.
Paul Williams, senior director of development for hotel management firm Baywood Hotels, summarized the project and said his company currently operates about 80 to 90 hotels.
“We’re growing very rapidly,” he said, explaining that the hotel would be an extended stay property consisting exclusively of suites, and would cater primarily to business travelers.
In their testimony, Edison Enterprises said the township’s master plan allows for a hotel for the site, which is in a light-industrial zone. They said the application has minor deviations from zoning laws regarding signage and building height. The height variance would allow for a four-story hotel. The four-story plan allows the building to have a smaller footprint — but more parking — than the three-story plan.
Due to wetlands issues, the applicant must wait for approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection before proceeding with the project.
Edison Enterprises and zoning board officials noted an existing issue with the state Department of Transportation regarding maintenance of a drainage system on the site. Edison Enterprises representatives said they could not guarantee that the state would conduct regular maintenance in the future, but that they would try to mitigate that problem as much as possible.
Ester Nemetz was the only resident to speak on the project during the meeting. She said she liked the proposal, but added that she was concerned about the fire risk of lightweight construction, citing the massive residential fire at AvalonBay in Edgewater in February.
Edison Enterprises experts said they were unfamiliar with the term “lightweight construction,” but the hotel would be a wood-constructed building that is up to code and has a full sprinkler system.
Board Chairman Leonard Sendelsky said he felt wood construction would be classified as “lightweight construction.” But board officials added that the fire requirements for hotels were stricter than multiunit dwellings, such as the AvalonBay residences.
Nemetz said she still had concerns.
“We’ve been reducing the quality of construction over the years in New Jersey to satisfy the needs and desires of builders, and not giving attention necessarily to the safety of the people who are going to be [residing] in these buildings,” she said, adding that she would be bring up the issue again in the future.
Board Vice Chairman Rosemary Feterik said the board does not have any say regarding how the building is constructed as long as everything is done up to code.
The board voted unanimously to approve the variances.