Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and Hillier Architect Bradley Walters team up to answer questions about the redevelopment. ##M:[more]##
Housing:
Many residents currently live near the Princeton Junction at West Windsor Train Station. The station is surrounded by Penns Neck, Sherbrooke, Berrien City, and Windsor Haven neighborhoods. There are also residential homes located on Wallace Road and nearby in the Estates at Princeton Junction. It is interesting to note that in the Estates at Princeton Junction Development, sales of houses in the Heritage Collection which are adjacent to the tracks (i.e., Kent, Juliet, and Lenmore Court) have sold in the $656,”840 to $823,”390 range. Sales of the Signature Collection single-family homes adjacent to the tracks (i.e., Inverness and Renfield Drive) have sold in the $930,”727 to $1,”109,”782 range. And finally, sales of townhomes adjacent to the tracks (i.e., Caleb Lane and Wedgewood Court) have sold in $493,”435 to $686,”149 range.
Hillier’s presentation included the following breakdown of residential units: 650 Unrestricted Condominium Units, 200 Age-Restricted (55 and over) Condominium Units, and 150 Apartment (Rental) Units for a total of 1000 residential units. Of the 1000 units, Hillier anticipates 800 will be market-rate units and 200 will be required to meet the State of NJ’s Council on Affordable Housing’s (COAH) current growth-share requirements for affordable housing.
Prices for the market-rate units will be set by market-forces (supply/demand, comparables in West Windsor, etc). The prices for affordable housing which are set by COAH are based on the median income level of residents within a county region—in West Windsor’s case Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties.
Fifteen percent (15%) of 1000 residential units are currently proposed as rental apartments.
Even if redevelopment does not occur and the current land-owners develop the properties as allowed under current zoning, affordable housing will be required on-site. Hillier’s initial calculations indicated that 362 units would be the growth share required for the whole area (new and existing properties). Hillier has recently been advised that the State will likely focus only on the net increase in building area. Based on the net increase in building area, approximately 281 affordable units will be required by current COAH guidelines. Using the same methodology, the proposed plan as presented last week generates a requirement for 196 affordable units. Any calculations associated with the Township’s affordable housing requirement are based on development-related growth share and are likely to change (increase) due to recent litigation. Many affordable housing consultants have indicated that a municipality’s Growth Share Obligation for the Third Round may increase by as much as 40 to 60 percent!
Schools:
Hillier is currently projecting 303 new students, which is based on the low end of Dr. Katz’s per unit ratios. These ratios assume a low level of child-friendly amenities, which Hillier believes is consistent with their plan. If the extreme high end of Dr. Katz’s ratios is used, meaning Hillier designed the units to be extremely favorable for families with lots of amenities for children (e.g., playgrounds, protected fenced-in yards, etc.), that would result in the range of 600-650 students. Hillier believes the lower end of the range is much more likely, given the plan and the types of units being proposed.
Dr. Katz has indicated that the District could accommodate upwards of 2000 new housing units (or 700 students) if not completed before 2014 or 2015. Hillier’s projection of 303 students is well within this. Neither Hillier’s projections nor a projection of 600-650 students would require construction of a new school. Hillier plans to look at the capacity within the district as they develop the project’s phasing strategy, to more carefully document this for the public.
Hillier is not projecting any additional impacts to the schools at this time, but will continue discussions with the District as plans are advanced.
Hillier will need to look at the specific enrollment projections for specific schools, and will aim to minimize bussing to the extent possible. Central to this is the phasing of the residential units, as previously mentioned.
Costs and Taxes:
Hillier presented a list of Infrastructure and Amenities items that total approximately $163MM. These are the costs that would be privately funded by either direct contributions from developers or through a Redevelopment Area Bond paid for by the projected annual revenue surplus of $7MM. The $163MM does not include any contributions from the state, NJ DOT, NJ Transit, or West Windsor. Funding for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) will come from both federal and state contributions through NJ Transit, with the exception of right-of-way which Hillier and other developers outside of the redevelopment area are providing for them. Also, NJ DOT is currently planning to fund 1/2 of the Vaughn Drive Extension, which is excluded from the $163MM projection.
Hillier’s project is showing a zero impact on taxes. Technically, the new development shows a revenue surplus of $7M, but that is being re-invested to generate $108 to $114MM of funding for the infrastructure and amenities described above. Once the redevelopment plan is further along in the process, the Township will be better able to assess the impact to residential and non-residential taxpayers.
Hillier hasn’t evaluated the township-wide tax split between residential and non-residential uses but the Township will work with Hillier as the project advances.
If the entire redevelopment project is privately funded, Hillier sees very few fiscal risks for the Township. That said, Hillier would want to see significant portions of the commercial space leased before construction to minimize any reduced tax revenue to the Township.
The assessed value of commercial property is based on its annual rental income less operating expenses, and occupancy is an associated factor. Hillier is aware that a vacant building is assessed at a lower rate than an occupied building, which is why they would advocate pre-leasing. The majority of office buildings located in West Windsor has normal occupancy rates and there are no significant commercial property owners within the redevelopment area that are currently delinquent in their property tax payments.
Parking at the Train Station:
The two current surface lots—Wallace and Vaughn Drive—are currently planned to remain as-is (and owned by the Township). These two lots total 935 spaces. Hillier indicated in the presentation that the proposed plan can provide for up to 950 additional parking spaces for residents. These would be accommodated in a new garage on the Township-owned compost site, after it is cleaned-up. Note that currently, approximately 1850 residents from West Windsor use the station regularly, including those that are dropped off, carpool, walk, bicycle, or arrive via bus or shuttle. While Hillier would not want to discourage the alternative modes of access to the station, the numbers indicate that spaces would be available for all current WW resident commuters.
There is no cost to the Township for the proposed parking improvements. The new garage for residents is completely funded by private sources (see Costs and Taxes, above).
Because NJ Transit owns a substantial amount of property at the station, it is possible that they would develop structured parking independently. Current landowners in the redevelopment area could also elect to build structured parking on their property, if they could individually justify the costs. Because NJ Transit is a state agency, it is not possible for the Township to limit the number of parking spaces that NJ Transit could provide on their own property. The Township may be able to revise zoning to limit parking on privately-held sites as a result of the plan.
At this point in the planning process, Hillier has not evaluated all of the impacts. That said, the Vaughn Drive extension will allow more drivers to efficiently bypass Penns Neck, using the current 4-lane stretch of Alexander Road instead. Hillier is conducting more detailed traffic studies to evaluate the impact more specifically. Hillier is also advocating the construction of the master plan road through the Sarnoff property, which would be a major improvement for Penns Neck. Hillier is in discussions with Sarnoff on this possibility.
In closing, we would like to emphasize the fact that the three public workshops are only the first step towards a final redevelopment plan for the 350 acres around the train station. In June of this year, Hillier Architecture will present a concept plan, based on all of the public input to date, at a joint meeting of Township Council and the Planning Board. In September, this concept plan will begin a formal review process by the Planning Board which will span up to three (3) open public meetings. Once the concept plan has been analyzed by the Planning Board and its professionals, it will be formally presented to the Township Council for further consideration and public comment. In order for any plan to be successful, ongoing public participation in each phase of the planning process is critical.
