Planning officials in Plainsboro and West Windsor heard applications last month for new projects in their respective towns—a senior development in Plainsboro and a Korean community center in West Windsor.
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.
In West Windsor, meanwhile, it’s on to the Planning Board for the proposed Korean Community Center on Meadow Road. The township’s Site Plan Review Advisory Board recommended the application to the Planning Board at its July 11 meeting.
This was the third SPRAB meeting for the Korean Community Center Foundation. The nonprofit purchased the 6.4-acre lot on 555 Meadow Road for $580,000 in 2011 and is expected before the Planning Board in October.
A one-story, 8,065-square-foot building is planned for the site, which will be open to the public. There will be numerous amenities, including a 160-person multi-purpose hall, conference rooms and classrooms. Programming will focus on Korean culture. The center will provide educational, social and health services for adults in the morning and evenings, as well as Saturday language classes for children.
There will be at least 56 parking spaces.
The property, zoned for research, office and recreation, will require two variances: the subdivided lot is a half-acre short of the minimum lot size requirement and 65 feet shy of the 200 feet width requirement.
The Princeton Presbyterian Church, now the Princeton Meadow Church, previously purchased the land from the Maneely Princeton Partnership. When the Korean Community Center is completed, it will be adjacent to the church, with two pre-existing single-family homes sandwiched between the two sites.
Also in the development pipeline is a 443-unit luxury rental complex on Wheeler Way, near the Princeton Country Club. The 68-acre parcel is owned by Princeton Theological Seminary, and the nonprofit is partnering with a private developer. The complex, named “Woodstone,” will include amenities and be built on a 23-acre portion of the site. The applicant will present a concept plan at the Wednesday, Aug. 3 Planning Board meeting.
In other news, the town may soon add nearly a half-acre to its open space greenbelt. Council introduced an ordinance at its July 18 meeting to accept a 0.42-acre lot from Grover’s Mill Apartments LLC. The company, owned by Carl Van Dyke, is renovating the adjacent Grover’s Mill building.
The “adaptive reuse” will preserve the building and convert it into a five-apartment rental complex. The Mill is located at the intersection of Cranbury and Clarksville roads. Across the street, Van Dyke previously converted and preserved the historic barn of alien invasion fame into a three-apartment, two-office mixed-use site.
,
