By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — Citing incomplete improvements to the senior citizens housing development known as The Esplanade at Bear Creek, township council has rejected the developer’s request to release nearly $2.6 million in performance bonds and cash.
Bear Creek Senior Housing LLC made the request to release the performance bonds and cash for private and public improvements at the development — also known as Senior Living at Bear Creek — which is located at the intersection of Old Trenton Road and Village Road East.
With no comment, township council approved a resolution denying the release of the performance bonds and cash Monday night. A developer posts a performance bond to ensure that work associated with a development is completed, as a condition of planning board approval for its project.
The planning board approved the application for The Esplanade at Bear Creek in January 1999. The plan called for two buildings with assisted living — one building for standard assisted living and one building for residents with dementia.
The plan included two buildings for independent living, consisting of a total of 220 apartments. A community building was also included. An amendment to the approval was granted in 2004 that tweaked the building design and that also included outdoor amenities such as a bocce court, putting green, horseshoe pit and walking paths.
Only Building A and Building B, as they are referred to in the application, have been constructed and are occupied. The two independent living apartment buildings and the community building have not been built, nor have the amenities — such as the bocce court and putting green — been installed.
Work on The Esplanade at Bear Creek was halted in 2002, after the developer filed for bankruptcy. The Esplanade at Bear Creek LLC took over the project, and later changed its corporate name to Bear Creek Senior Housing LLC.
Meanwhile, township council made its decision to deny the release of performance bonds on the recommendation of Municipal Engineer Francis Guzik. His recommendation was based on a report prepared by Van Cleef Engineering Associates, which is the township’s consulting engineer for the project.
The consulting engineer’s report cited an abandoned construction trailer that must be removed from the property. There are areas next to the loop road around the development that are overgrown with weeds and vegetation, extending into the roadway. The overall condition of the road is “fair to poor,” according to the report.
Also, there are sinkholes in the loop road. Several areas within the road are showing “severe settlement, resulting in cracking and holes in the paving,” the consulting engineer’s report said. The asphalt pedestrian path also has open cracks that need to be repaired.
