By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
County planning officials are taking a hard look at a potentially huge office and research project called the Princeton Research Triangle that could have a “massive” impact on the region.
”(This project) is in the very early stages,” Middlesex County Planning Director George Ververides said Tuesday. “Much more needs to be reviewed before anything happens.”
Mr. Ververides became aware of the plan and its proposed 15 million square feet of development on more than 2,100 acres off Route 27 in Franklin Township in late March, according to documents obtained by the Post.
Somerset County Planning Director Bob Bzik sent Mr. Ververides an e-mail about the proposal on March 30 to which Mr. Ververides responded by letter the next day, asking that neighboring municipalities be kept informed of the plan’s progress.
”This certainly will have significant regional ramifications in both Middlesex and Somerset counties,” Mr. Ververides writes in his March 31 letter to Mr. Bzik.
According to a presentation accompanying Mr. Ververides’ letter, which was sent to South Brunswick Township, the estimated $5 billion complex would “become the global embassy for science and technology” and represent science parks throughout the world.
The presentation estimates the project would take 20 years to build and use 7,000 construction workers and 200 planners.
When completed, the complex would host 40,000 researchers and 10,000 support and administration staff, according to the presentation.
The new facility would be built on land next to the Trap Rock quarry along Route 27.
Princeton architect J. Robert Hillier’s firm created the drawings and presentations used by Somerset County, according to a statement released by his office.
The statement said his firm was hired to do the research and feasibility studies on the project, but said it was the company’s policy not to disclose the identity of the client.
However, spokesman Teri McIntire said Mr. Hillier was not a principal in the organization Franklin Properties LLC, which was identified by Mr. Bzik as the group submitting the plan.
It is not clear who are the principals of Franklin Properties or where it is located, except that Mr. Hillier said in his statement that it exists solely to study the feasibility of the project.
Mr. Bzik said the “very conceptual” plan was given to Somerset County so it could be made part of its wastewater management plan.
Mr. Bzik said, however, the proposal would not be included in that amended wastewater plan.
”The county is in no position to amend the wastewater plan to accommodate this,” he said.
Mr. Bzik did say that during the next month or so the county would study the plan and use its ability to run computer models of the traffic the complex would generate.
That information would eventually be made available to Franklin Township planners should the project move forward.
However, the statement from Mr. Hillier’s office said the Franklin Township location was one of several being considered and the traffic impacts with existing roads might not be adequate for a project of this size.
”Our analysis for that specific location in Franklin Township could have been an interesting site for a technology complex,” said the statement. “However, the current capacity of the roadways and traffic issues make it not likely.”
George Conway, a spokesman for Trap Rock, said he had heard something about the plan, but the company has no interest in selling its land to anyone.
Another property owner mentioned in the presentation, Bryce Thompson Jr., who owns a real estate firm in Princeton, also said he has heard a little about the proposal but has not been approached by anyone to purchase the estimated 68 acres he said he owns in that area.
Both county planners, Mr. Ververides and Mr. Bzik, said the project would have a major impact on the region and said neighboring communities should keep their eyes on the project if it moves forward.
Mr. Bzik said there are several acres of wetlands on the property proposed for the project and many other types of approvals would be needed.
South Brunswick Mayor Frank Gambatese said Tuesday night that such a massive development is “tremendous” and could be both a blessing and a curse to South Brunswick, which shares Route 27 as a border between it and the site in Franklin Township.
”We have to balance this thing,” said Mayor Gambatese said. “We will keep our eye on this.”
Mayor Gambatese said the creation of 50,000 jobs could be good for his community, but is also concerned about what it would do to the traffic in the region.
Councilman John O’Sullivan is starting a group called South Brunswick Concerned About the Triangle, or SCAT, to keep residents appraised of the progress of the plan.
”I’m concerned about the impact of this massive development on the quality of life in South Brunswick,” Mr. O’Sullivan said in a statement earlier this week. “Currently the traffic in the area is horrendous during peak commuting hours. Imagine what it will be like during the construction and build out.”
Mr. O’Sullivan’s group intends to keep members alerted as the proposal moves forward through e-mail, he said.
