By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
CRANBURY — There’s a plan to redevelop a blighted area of town but not everyone is thrilled with certain aspects of the proposal.
The developer who has contracts on the Cheney, Hagerty and Kushner properties at the intersection of South Main Street and Old Trenton Road presented a draft concept plan for the area that includes 61 townhouses, a strip mall for retail establishments, a bank building and a pharmacy site. Ten percent of the housing would be affordable housing to help the township meet its Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) obligation.
“Nothing is a done deal,” High Point Development President Paul Schneier said. “We wanted to share what we’ve come up with so far. We’re going to take whatever comments we receive tonight — what’s sensible — and incorporate them into our plans.”
The township did its due diligence in investigating the property for a redevelopment designation and both the Planning Board and the Township Committee reviewed the information gathered as well as public comment before granting the property that designation. Mr. Schneier said the redevelopment designation gives his company the needed relief from the properties’ current zoning to reach the goals Cranbury has for the overall site. He said current zoning only provides for 45 two-bedroom units and his company is looking to develop more, mainly due to the cost factors associated with the environmental remediation of the property, demolition of the warehouse buildings and utility relocations.
“The vision of the township professionals also added complexity and costs to the project,” Mr. Schneier said.
Cranbury officials want the development to be age-targeted with an affordable housing component and a walkable retail component. The township also wants the development to “look and feel like Cranbury” with regard to its architectural vocabulary and open space areas.
According to the presentation, the developer wants to create 61 three-bedroom townhouses over a 10-acre area with access into the property from Old Cranbury Road. The townhomes would measure between 2,400 and 3,600 square feet and would cost approximately $600,000 to $700,000 each. There would be a small wet or dry stormwater basin on the southern part of the property, which would also include two internal open space areas that would measure 13,000 square feet and 25,000 square feet, respectively. Each townhouse would have a two-car garage as well as a two-car driveway. The internal sidewalks would connect with the retail center at the northern section of the property along Old Trenton Road.
The proposed pharmacy building would measure 12,000 square feet and would have a drive-through. The bank would also have a drive-through. The 12,000-square-foot strip mall would be a two-story building with room for 12 apartments, possibly affordable housing, on the second floor.
Vehicles would be able to enter and exit the retail portion of the site from Old Cranbury Road. There would also be a right-turn only enter and exit into the site off of South Main Street. The project would also allow for a 13-foot widening of Old Trenton Road between the intersections with Old Cranbury Road and South Main Street.
The developer will have to submit its redevelopment plan for the area to the Planning Board for review, which will include public comment opportunities. If the Planning Board accepts the redevelopment plan, it will forward the plan to the Township Committee for review, which will provide more opportunities for public comment. If the Township Committee accepts the redevelopment plan, the plan reverts back to the Planning Board for site plan approval.
During the public comment portion of the public concept plan meeting held Tuesday night, many members of the public complained about the density of the project.
Fran McGovern, who is a candidate for Township Committee, said, “The density has to be chopped.”
The concerns were mostly about how many schoolchildren the project would add to Cranbury School and Princeton High School and if those schools could handle an influx of students.
Cranbury School Chief Administrator Susan Genco said the district will be conducting a demographic study to see what the schools can handle.
Some audience members pointed out that while the units will be marketed toward active adults over the age of 55, the development will not be age-restricted and would likely appeal to families with children. Some asked township officials to consider making it an age-restricted development.
After the meeting, Mayor James Taylor said, “It is important for residents to look at the whole picture in this redevelopment process. This is 10 acres of land in the village area that is zoned for residential use. Presently, our affordable housing fate is in the hands of the court system and while we’re impressing upon the court our efforts to meet our obligation and that we should continue under COAH protection, there are other parties working equally hard to challenge our position and allow builders to come in and meet our obligation. As Mr. Mulligan mentioned we have a letter from one large apartment developer already and are anticipating more. A builder’s remedy would be costly to litigate and the builder would have the right to build five market rate apartments for every one affordable unit greatly impacting our infrastructure.”
The mayor added, “My goal as expressed to the developer and subcommittee is to ensure that we minimize impact to the area, control density as best we can and maintain an integrated architecture. We may not have 100 percent consensus, but a large apartment complex, should that happen, I am fairly certain would have 100 percent opposition.”
