Planning officials in Plainsboro heard informal applications last month for a new senior residential development and high-end gym.
The Plainsboro Planning Board at its July 18 meeting gave the thumbs up to a concept plan for a 55-plus community on a 38-acre parcel on Plainsboro Road between Merwick and the Firmenich campus. The parcel is the largest undeveloped tract in the township’s hospital redevelopment area.
The state Municipal Land Use Law allows developers to request an informal review of a concept plan for a development. Any decisions made by the board during concept review are nonbinding.
Pennsylvania-based Endeavor Property Group is proposing a 334-unit age-restricted development, and a formal application is expected before the Planning Board this fall. The nonprofit Princeton Healthcare System currently owns the land, which has been designated as an “adult retirement community site” in the redevelopment plan.
The residences will occupy the upper half of the property close to the road, and the portion approaching the Millstone River will remain as open space. The centerpiece of the proposed development is a six-story apartment building with 296 apartments. Surrounding the complex will be eleven buildings comprising 38 attached townhouses. All 334 units will be rentals, and there will be 43 affordable units.
The final piece of the redevelopment puzzle is an eight-acre parcel adjacent to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia site. That lot is zoned for office and research.
Two sites to the north are expected to break ground this year: the 105-unit Maplewood Senior Living, a 100,000-square-foot memory care facility on Hospital Drive; and the 11,500-square-foot Discovery Years Child Care Center. An adult-care facility next to the child care center also has approvals in hand.
Following a pattern of healthcare consolidation nationwide, Princeton Healthcare System announced a “letter of intent” in mid-July to merge with the University of Pennsylvania healthcare system.
In other news, the Planning Board also gave the thumbs up to another concept plan on nonprofit-owned land. Minnesota-based Life Time Fitness is proposing a two-story, 120,000-square-foot high-end gym at 700 Campus Road. The facility is located between the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and U.S. 1, and the 12-acre parcel is currently owned by Princeton University.
