Two sites in the Princeton Junction redevelopment zone received different decisions from the Site Plan Advisory Review Board (SPRAB). Despite application improvements, many issues remain unresolved for the blighted property behind the Ellsworth Center. Pereira Investment, the owners of the site, will return before SPRAB on Monday, December 8. At the same meeting, Toll Brothers will present the site plan for the 40-plus acre Maneely tract on Old Bear Brook Road.
On the other side of the redevelopment area, the Artis Senior Living application to build a two-story memory care facility on 861 Alexander Road was recommended to the Zoning Board.
SPRAB member Susan Abbey, who is also on the Zoning Board, emphasized the need for improvements to the appearance of the proposed facility, calling the site’s location the “gateway to the redevelopment zone.”
Artis is under contract to purchase the property, the former home of the Princeton Polychrome Press, from Greg Olsen, who owns GHO Ventures.
“Slowly but surely, we are adding one more building, one more use to the redevelopment plan,” says township planner John Madden. “This represents a change from the plan in need and there will be less traffic.”
Landscape design and appearance are the main application improvements needed for the site. According to Madden the 3.37-acre site , which was previously a heavy industrial use, has gotten Department of Environmental Protection approval so pollution is not a significant issue.
The third meeting between Pereira and SPRAB lasted three hours on October 27, as traffic, engineering, and landscape issues persisted. In addition to its site plan application, Pereira has an ongoing lawsuit against the Zoning Board, which is advised by SPRAB, that has recently gone to trial in Mercer County Superior Court. The judge’s ruling is expected before the end of the year.
“Every time they come back, they come back better. It’s getting closer to something we would pass on to the Zoning Board and Planning Board,” says SPRAB vice chair Ted Begun. “Right now there is so much information lacking, we wouldn’t pass it on.”
One concern repeatedly brought up by SPRAB was whether the existing one-story structures could support second-story residential additions. For the second straight meeting there was confusion regarding the township’s receipt of application materials. Jacinto Rodrigues, the owner of the site, said he was compliant in submitting an engineering report that verifies the structural integrity of the building. However, Begun says reports are typically received by the township staff more than a week in advance, and no one from the township saw the report in question prior to the day of the meeting.
Notable improvement was made to the site’s entrance design, as the road entrance to the site was straightened by reducing the size of a proposed building’s southwest corner. Yet while this improves traffic flow going in and out, Begun says the parking and drive-around remain tight. In addition, there are landscaping questions over adequate buffers between the building and property line, as one building backs onto the railroad. The traffic consultant is also concerned about emergency vehicle access.
“The whole thing would be better if there were one building less. Everything is jammed in,” Begun says.
The proposed number of second-story apartments, to be built on the second story of four buildings with professional office space on the first floor, was increased to 45, as the development team shrunk the average apartment size.
“It’s not a great plan, though of course they are stuck where they are,” Begun says.
Planning Board News.
The two residential lots owned by Shawn Ellsworth adjacent to Pereira’s property have been recommended for redevelopment designation at the board’s December 3 meeting. A resolution will go before Council on Monday, December 22. Pereira has a lawsuit challenging Zoning Board variances granted to the same properties, and a ruling is expected by Christmas.
The board has also approved the subdivision request by Kevin and Ann Marie McCabe for their 1.9-acre lot at 10 Priory Road. The property will be subdivided into two conforming 0.9 acre lots. The existing home will remain intact, and the newly formed lot can be sold or built out.
