Despite continued concern from one of its members over insufficient analysis of the price, the West Windsor Township Council unanimously introduced two ordinances that pave the way for the township’s purchase of a 27.6-acre parcel of open space from the Jewish Community Campus.
The township introduced the measures, which will, if ultimately approved, allow the township to purchase the land on Clarksville Road at a price of $1,358,725. The township has appropriated a total of $1,385,000 in its funds toward the acquisition, which also includes costs associated with surveys, environmental assessments, and other administrative and legal work associated with the purchase. Those “soft” costs total around $25,625 — about $5,000 of which is paid for by the state Green Acres.
The administration reported that it was able to re-negotiate with JCC officials to lower the selling price by more than $200,000 off the original price. The 27-acre parcel is part of the larger 81-acre future JCC campus.
The funds for the purchase will come from the township’s Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund, which is dedicated to open space acquisition. The Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS) will contribute $100,000 to the fund after the transaction to help offset some of the cost.
In addition, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh says Mercer County officials have agreed to contribute $203,808 to further offset the costs to West Windsor.
The township is also awaiting word from the state Green Acres officials about whether the township could receive an additional $629,363 from the state. If state Green Acres funding comes through, West Windsor could end up paying only about $425,554 out of the $1.35 million total purchase cost.
Councilwoman Linda Geevers tried to discuss the matter before the ordinances were introduced on November 8 at the council’s meeting at the new West Windsor Arts Council building, but Council President Diane Ciccone gaveled her into silence, saying that discussion would be held during the public hearing on Monday, November 22.
Geevers was concerned that the administration and her council colleagues had not followed her suggestion to bring in a commercial real estate broker to provide expert advice on the true selling value of the property. Appraisals estimated the value of the property was between $55,000 and $58,000 per acre — a $19,000 increase over the $37,000 per acre for which the JCC had purchased the property in 2005.
When Ciccone said that discussion was not appropriate during the introduction of the ordinances, Geevers responded, “We’re voting on an important matter, and we should have a discussion.” Geevers said no discussion had taken place by the council since the previous executive session on the matter.
However, “I asked the council what direction they wanted to give the administration,” said Ciccone. “Without going into what was said, the administration acted on whatever we did. It is now up for introduction.”
Geevers said she wanted a report from Township Attorney Michael Herbert about the merits of bringing in a commercial real estate broker, but Herbert sent a one-line E-mail saying that the mayor re-negotiated with the JCC for a lower price.
After a back-and-forth, Ciccone banged the gavel to end the conversation.
But some residents also echoed Geevers’ concerns. Penn Lyle Road resident Bryan Maher said he supported Geevers and Councilman George Borek, who echoed Geevers’ concerns when it was first considered last month.
“For $1.5 million, more information is better than less information in my book,” Maher said. “My take on it is the community has been asking time and time and time again that you guys address Route 571. You’re not addressing 571. It’s a disaster; it’s embarrassing.”
“We need to make educated financial decisions before just saying, ‘That’s a good price,’” Maher added. “You all were elected to be financial stewards of the town. And with some of the highest property taxes in the country, we need to take a long, hard look at that.”
After the ordinances were introduced, Maher, who said he is a recognized real estate expert, said that the property was originally purchased in the height of the market, and he questioned whether the “price of this land has appreciated nearly 40 percent at the newly-negotiated rate, from the year 2005.”
“It just seems weird, and I think Linda and George should be commended for looking into it deeper,” Maher said.
Lisa Weil, who is with Gloria Nilson, also questioned the price. “I was concerned about whether the correct appraisal was being done,” she said.
Despite her call for more study and analysis of the price, Geevers voted to introduce the ordinances, along with the three other council members in attendance. Councilman Charles Morgan was absent.
The first ordinance is a capital ordinance that provides the funding for the acquisition of the parcel — $1,385,000 — which will be taken from the township’s dedicated Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund. The second ordinance authorizes the contract with the JCC for the land purchase at a price of $1,358,725.
There were members of the public who called for the ordinances to be introduced. Alison Miller, president of FOWWOS, urged council to move forward with the measure so that the township could acquire “this very valuable and desirable property.”
She commended the administration for its “extra great job in re-negotiating” to get the price down. She said there are plans for a network of pedestrian paths through the property, and that preserving it would also protect the heronry on site.
David Siegel, also a member of FOWWOS, said that the township already had the best information it needed to make the purchase, as both appraisers who estimated the value of the property were on the state Green Acres list of approved appraisers. The township followed the appropriate state-regulated method of seeking appraisals for estimates of the value of the property, he said — a notion that was emphasized by Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.
Hsueh emphasized that the property has been on the township’s radar for a while. He also said that the township was the entity that initiated the deal. “We wanted to buy it, and they are also willing to sell,” he said.
Roughly 9.2 acres of the property is environmentally constrained — 7.2 acres of which are wetlands, he said. About 18.39 acres are developable.
“In terms of the price, the state and township set up ground rules 10 years ago that you have to go by certified appraisals,” he explained. “Commercial brokers will not be acceptable by the state. It’s a process established by the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), and they have a whole list of certified appraisers. Even if we wanted to contact [the commercial real estate brokers] to come to a meeting, they have no authority to say anything about it.”
Further, Hsueh said the township was able to negotiate a much better price for the property. “I don’t believe you can get that kind of price today,” he said.
Even if the township does not get the state Green Acres funding, the township would only end up paying roughly $1 million of the cost out of its own open space fund. “It would not be smart to not buy this piece of property now before all of this money is gone,” he said. “Today, it’s not easy to get money, and the county already gave us a promise.”
Councilman George Borek, who along with Geevers, originally called for a commercial real estate broker to provide advice on the value of the property, said he had already reached out to legislators, calling for a change in the mandated procedures for expert review when it comes to land acquisition.
“I’ve reached out to some of our elected officials in Trenton to see if they can change it through administrative or legislative manner,” he said. “Now is the time to revisit the rules that we’re governed by and to bring something else into the equation.”
Debate over the acquisition — and the appraised value of the property — began in September.
In the weeks leading up to the meeting, Borek and Geevers had worked behind the scenes to try to get their colleagues to bring in a commercial real estate broker to shed some light on the value of the property.
They argued that the two most recent appraisals — conducted by two independent firms — did not take into account the low market value for commercial property in today’s economic environment.
The issue of the value in the appraisals — public documents obtained by the News through an Open Public Records Act request — held up the township’s negotiations for the purchase of the property and prompted the members of the Friends of West Windsor Open Space to urge the council to come to an agreement. FOWWOS members even offered to provide the funds to hire an independent professional to conduct a third appraisal in hopes of moving the process along.
Geevers and Borek had pointed to another figure contained in both appraisals: the price — $37,795 per acre — at which JCC purchased the property in 2005. They both questioned how the property could have appreciated so drastically in today’s economic climate. They said a commercial real estate broker should discuss the issue with the council before the township considered any offer from the JCC that was based on those appraisals.
After the meeting, however, Hsueh provided a timeline that detailed the township’s history in targeting the property for acquisition. According to the timeline, Dataram purchased the 81.35-acre property in 1980 for $875,000 — at a cost of $10,756 per acre.
In 1999 the mayor’s task force identified 91 parcels to acquire for Open Space acquisition, which included the Dataram property. The township tried to purchase the land in 2002 from Dataram but was unsuccessful in reaching an agreement.
Instead, Dataram sold the property to the JCC in 2002 at a cost of $3.075 million — at the price of $37,800 per acres. In August, 2008, the township hired Martin Appraisals to appraise a 31.91 parcel of the total 81-acre property and subsequently offered to purchase the property at a price of $2.075 million — $65,027 per acre. The price reflected roadway improvements and sewer extension, but the offer was rejected by the JCC.
In May, 2009, the township hired Sockler Realty Services to conduct an appraisal on the property, which was reduced from 31.9 acres to 27.59 acres, and the property is appraised at $1.5 million — $54,368 per acre. The township also hired Martin Appraisals for an update of the original August, 2008, appraisal to reflect the reduction in acreage. The property was appraised at $1.57 million — $56,905 per acre.
Despite many meetings from July to December, 2009, the township was unsuccessful in negotiating a price, and the township abandoned its negotiations. But in March, 2010, the JCC contacted township officials to discuss the sale of the lot again, and both sides agree to have two additional appraisals completed and to abide by average value of both properties.
That’s where the most recent appraisals come in. The first appraisal on the property was conducted on June 15 by Sockler Realty Services Group, of Hightstown. In that appraisal, the market value of the property was estimated to be $55,000 per acre, for a total value of $1,517,450.
The other appraisal was conducted on July 3 by Richard J. Carabelli of Martin Appraisal Associates in Lawrenceville. It estimated that the 27.59-acre property was worth $58,000 per acre, for a total of $1,600,220, which was rounded down to $1.6 million.
In August, Green Acres officials certified the market value of the property at $1.558 million, and the township received the executed contract from the JCC for that price, the Township Council declined to introduce an acquisition ordinance. The administration was able to renegotiate a contract with the JCC for a sale price of $1,358,725.
The property lies in the ROM-1 zoning area, which allows for research, office, and manufacturing uses. The JCC purchased the property — two adjoining parcels totaling 81.36 acres.
When the project is constructed, the JCC campus will include one 78,000 square-foot building and one 7,000 square-foot structure for the day camp. The campus will include a child care and early education center, health and fitness facilities, a Kosher cafe, private JFCS [Jewish Family and Children Service] suites, and offices for the United Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation. It will also include recreation fields and a swimming pool.
The remaining, undeveloped portion of the campus comprises the 27.59-acre piece of land the JCC is in negotiations to sell to the township. The Duck Pond Run traverses the parcel, which also contains a blue heron rookery.
