The Woodmont at Hopewell residential development is moving forward on Federal City Road after the Hopewell Township Planning Board unanimously voted to approve the project.
The project will construct 300 housing units, which will include 48 affordable housing units, on the estimated 22-acre property in Hopewell.
The units will consist of 194 two-bedroom, 96 one-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom units with nine residential buildings on the site.
The site is also set to have a clubhouse with a swimming pool and maintenance building.
Currently on the property sits several buildings, a communication tower and parking areas.
The planning board’s decision to approve the project came at a Sept. 26 meeting – the third meeting on the project – where representatives for Woodmont Properties presented their findings on a noise study that was conducted.
On behalf of Woodmont, sound engineer Randall Barranger did a noise analysis on the site at various locations.
“This was done during night time hours on Aug. 12. I recorded measurements adjacent to Interstate 295 (I-295), west of the site, center of the site and south of the site,” Barranger said. “In total, it was five measurement locations. I wanted to get a conservative estimate. Primary sources of noise were traffic on Interstate 295 with the upper range of those measurements being trucks on Interstate 295.”
Representatives for Woodmont also discussed the relocation of a playground proposed on the site that was set in the plan to be built closer on the site to I-295.
Thomas Carroll, the attorney from Hill Wallack who represented Woodmont Properties in front of the planning and zoning boards, said, “This is a site that is of course a part of a court-ordered fair share housing plan for Hopewell Township.”
The residential development’s 48 affordable housing units fall into Hopewell’s obligation that was settled in 2017. Hopewell had settled a lawsuit over affordable housing, which allows as many as 3,000 new housing units, including 653 rental apartments, set aside for low- and moderate-income households. Those units are on the horizon for Hopewell through 2025.