Two applications for commercial developments were okayed by the West Windsor Planning Board on Wednesday, October 19.##M:[more]##
The board voted unanimous approval for both an addition to the Princeton Arms Shopping Center on Old Trenton Road at Dorchester Drive, and a new office/bank building at Princeton-Hightstown Road and Sherbrooke Drive. Both hearings had been continued from previous meetings.
The Princeton Arms application, submitted by George Sands, will increase the size of the shopping center from 30,”000 square feet to 67,”000 square feet. The addition was part of the center’s original approval in the 1980s, but was never constructed.
Conditions of approval dealt with the parking lot, signage, and esthetic issues. Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner, after the meeting, said township engineer, Jim Parvesse, found that the existing parking lot is in serious need of repair. The township engineer indicated that the parking lot is laden with sinkholes and a host of pavement failures, according to Gardner.
The developer agreed to work with Parvesse to identify the areas that need to be repaired, fix them, and then repave the lot with a two-inch overlay. The developer can also opt to build a new lot if the cost of repairs is more than the cost of reconstruction.
The size of the sign listing all of the tenants of the complex was also an issue. “Currently there are 18 tenants identified on the sign,” said Gardner. “The applicant was seeking to increase the number to 27 panels. From a visual aspect, it was self-defeating because no motorist can read that sign driving 45 or 50 MPH on Old Trenton Road. From an esthetic perspective, it wasn’t appealing.”
Another signage issue was the tenant identification sign located on the facade above each store. According to Gardner, Sands wanted to do use sign boxes, while the board preferred singular signs with illuminated back lighting.
Ultimately, the board decided to remove the signage package from the application and directed the developer to attempt to negotiate a resolution with the township’s landscape architect. The board will hold a hearing on the sign package at its meeting on Wednesday, December 14.
The developer also agreed to make the facade of the building and the wall fronting the stores uniform between the existing and new sections of the shopping center.
The plan also calls for a clock tower to be built near the center of the center. The board required that the developer widen the open area around the tower and install benches so that it can be made into a transit stop.
Developer CDNJ received approval to construct a new 10,”080-square-foot office building on a 2.1 acre property directly across from the entrance to the Acme shopping center. A JP Morgan Chase bank is expected to occupy the first floor of the two-story building, which will also have two drive-through banking windows, and a drive-through ATM lane.
Board deliberations included issues of ingress and egress, esthetics, and signage. The township had originally called for the entrance and exit to the site to be on Route 571, a short distance north of the intersection with Sherbrooke Drive. County planners rejected the entrance, stating that allowing left turns onto Route 571 from the project would create additional vehicle conflicts with traffic entering and exiting businesses on the southbound side of Route 571.
As a compromise, the county, township, and CDNJ agreed to prohibit left turns into and out of the entrance on Route 571. Left turns out of the project from the Sherbrooke Drive access would also be barred in an effort to keep traffic out of the residential neighborhood.
As a condition of the approval, the developer agreed to pay up to $10,”000 for traffic studies to be conducted before the project is completed, and a second after operations commence at the site to determine the impacts on the residential streets leading to Sherbrooke Drive. After the site opens, the township will also attempt to secure an easement from the project that would allow access to Carlton Place and out onto Cranbury Road.
The board also granted variances to locate the building closer to the road to make the project more consistent with plans for redevelopment.
