Lawrence Township Mayor Patricia Hendricks Farmer said the township remains financially stable and continues to attract new business and housing development, all while investing in public safety and open space.
In a recent wide-ranging interview with Lawrence Gazette, Hendricks Farmer discussed a number of topics of concern to township residents, including the town’s ongoing efforts to promote economic growth through infrastructure improvements, a conservative fiscal strategy, and a focus on quality-of-life enhancements.
The following is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation, the first part of which is running this month. The interview will continue in next month’s issue.
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Lawrence Gazette: What is the town doing in terms of promoting economic growth and business developments and projects that people might want to know about?
Mayor Patricia Hendricks Farmer: With regards to steps the township has taken to promote economic growth, one is obviously keeping our tax rate stable. We are addressing infrastructure issues—our roads, parks, and buildings—and overall improving the quality of life for our community. We’ve also become a community of choice for many businesses, which is very exciting.
I know, as mayor, I’ve done many ribbon cuttings throughout my first year. We continue to be a community where people want to come to live and work. Commercial and residential properties are continuing to increase in value year after year; we’re outpacing many other communities in our area. Through these efforts, we just continue to promote economic growth. So, it’s a very exciting time.
Lawrence Gazette: Do you know of any specific businesses or projects that are planned that might be coming down the pipeline to help bolster the township’s tax base or ratable base?
Farmer: One of the things I can talk about is that, over the next several years, we’ll witness revitalization in our Lawrence Shopping Center. There are new stores that have come to the center, offering our residents a variety of options. Most recently, we have an adventure-type store that’s coming into town (Urban Air Adventure Park). I know many in the community are excited about that opening.
Also, we’re working with additional owners to do commercial enterprise, so that’s happening. In the long term, as commercial ratables continue to grow, they provide a place for people to shop nearby. There are some businesses that we’re looking to open shortly that will be announced soon.
Along Texas Avenue, behind the shopping center, there is a portion that’s owned by the center. Some construction will be coming there for new affordable housing as well.
They’re looking, I guess, to break ground soon. That will be an asset to our community. We’re looking forward to that.
Lawrence Gazette: More affordable housing is definitely something that’s needed, and I think a lot of people are looking for it.
Farmer: Absolutely. I would agree with you on that. Being out in the community, I’ve heard affordable housing is something that people are very interested in. A lot of our young people, young professionals, want to afford to live in Lawrence as new homeowners. They’re very interested in that. So, yeah, it’s a good thing for Lawrence.
Municipal budget and township finances
Lawrence Gazette: The Township Council approved the municipal budget in April, which kept the tax rate flat. From what you’ve seen, what kind of impacts have continued rising costs—and I guess the chance that there could be some federal funding issues—had on the township’s revenues? What’s the council’s thinking as it looks forward to this year’s budget and beyond?
Farmer: You’re referencing the federal budget, which impacts all of us. Fortunately for us in Lawrence, we’ve maintained a very conservative approach in how we manage a healthy financial situation.
About five years ago, we shifted from a focus that emphasized relying on grants—county, state, federal, and even private options—to balance and finance projects. We pursued public-private partnerships that would allow us to do a lot of work without depending solely on tax ratables.
That formula has allowed us to annually and consistently take on projects to improve the community, improving our streets, parks and creating pedestrian-friendly modes of transportation.
Each year when we craft the budget, we’re faced with increased costs for things we can’t control—garbage collection, health insurance, pensions. But our approach has not been to simply ask taxpayers for more funding.
So, for many things, we’ve been able to maintain our services and keep our budget manageable. We take a conservative approach, look for partnerships and grants, and pursue private monies to assist us. We’ve done a lot of that—and been very successful.
Lawrence Gazette: A lot of municipalities look to get some money from the state and also from the federal government. Unfortunately, it seems like the federal government is cutting back.
Farmer: It’s about planning, and we’ve been very fortunate here in Lawrence with an administration that has been forward-thinking, projecting and anticipating.
Projects, infrastructure and facilities
Lawrence Gazette: Do you have any updates on major projects—roads, parks, public facilities—things like that? I guess what we’d be talking about is your capital improvement plan. Things that will be planned out not only for this year, but for the next five or six years?
Farmer: We continue year to improve our parks. We do have a new and exciting improvement happening at Eldridge Park.
It’s going to involve creating pathways around the perimeter of the center so that it opens up for people to walk, jog, and enjoy the outdoors. It’ll be paved and wheelchair accessible for those who want to be active outside. We’re making it more pedestrian-friendly.
It’s actually in the community I grew up in. I have fond memories of playing there as a child. They’ve already made some improvements, including new playground structures for the kids. They even took away the big, long sliding board we used to come down. So that’s one of the significant projects that we’re working on in terms of our parks.
And we did the dog park last year.
Lawrence Gazette: The Colonial Lake area is ongoing as well?
Farmer: Yes, always. I don’t have anything new to report there yet, but yes. I know there have been a couple of things that have come up.
Lawrence Gazette: I know there’s been kind of an ongoing plan to just make sure it’s cleaned up.
Farmer: That’s right.
Lawrence Gazette: And I guess there was a development that had been planned there, but eventually…
Farmer: That was not successful. The community there is very close-knit. It’s a beautiful park.
Housing and affordable housing mandates
Lawrence Gazette: Let’s talk about housing and real estate. There’s been some ongoing housing approvals—apartment developments and some affordable housing approved in the township. Can you talk about that?
Farmer: In my neighborhood, the Eldridge Park area, there have been some new market-rate homes—probably six, seven, or eight—that have come up, which is really nice to see.
As for plans for new housing developments and initiatives in Lawrence Township: (the project at) 3131 Princeton Pike is still moving forward. That will provide both affordable and market-rate housing.
We talked earlier about Texas Avenue near the Lawrence Shopping Center; we’re looking forward to that beginning, hopefully in 2025. Lenox Drive has been completed by Princeton Pike. That’s done.
Then there’s Spruce Street, where there are some additional housing units. We also renewed the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) commitment to the Eggerts Crossing Village, which has been making significant improvements. There’s movement with new housing, existing housing, and affordable housing.
Lawrence Gazette: After I ran the article about the Texas Ave. project project being approved a few years ago, I received a number of phone calls from residents in town who wanted to know how they could take advantage of the affordable housing.
They said they were looking for it—or a family member was looking for it. I basically said, “Well, check with the township,” because they have all of the info.
How is the township addressing concerns about rising property costs? You’ve addressed taxes by keeping them flat in this year’s budget. What’s being done about making sure there’s a diversity of housing options.
Farmer: First-time homeowners are a big focus. In my neighborhood, some homes were going for about $650,000, which is a good number for starting in Lawrence. As I mentioned, we also have projects that are going to be starting soon that will provide affordable housing.
We’re meeting our obligations in that regard, and we don’t anticipate any issues.
Lawrence Gazette: That leads into the next question: The latest state affordable housing initiative that’s ongoing. Probably half or more of the community challenged the numbers the state came up with for the latest round of affordable housing requirements—but Lawrence didn’t. Does the township feel comfortable with the number the state came up with?
Farmer: Yes. Historically, Lawrence has been a community with a variety of housing stock. Affordable housing has always played a part in that mix. We feel very confident that we will have no issue meeting the number designated by the state.
As I mentioned earlier, we have new housing going up on Texas Avenue, and 3131 Princeton Pike is another major development. Those are the primary ones we’re looking at for the near future.
Lawrence Gazette: Lawrence is pretty built out, but if a developer does come in wanting to provide some market-rate housing, does the township look to also have them include some affordable housing mixed in?
Farmer: It would depend. We have to look at all of our numbers and take an assessment of where we are. We always consider those options whenever there’s new development. But we do welcome market-rate housing, of course.
Patricia Heckricks Farmer.,
