Jones Lang LaSalle

Ewing Twp. eyes condo projects
Ewing paves way for 2 new condo complexes
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
By KRYSTAL KNAPP
Staff Writer

EWING -- The first steps toward approving a 235-unit condominium complex on Lower Ferry Road and a 54-unit complex on Parkside Avenue were taken Thursday night when the township planning board voted to recommend a zoning change for both properties.

The Lower Ferry Road project would be the fourth condominium project for the Middlesex County-based American Properties, which is also the developer of the Ewing Courtyard by Marriott hotel on Scotch Road near the border with Hopewell Township. The hotel opened in 2004.

If the Lower Ferry Road project and the developer's other proposal for condominiums off Bear Tavern Road are approved and developed as proposed, the combined number of condominiums built by American Properties in the township would be more than 700 units. The company already has built two condo complexes in the township, Scotch Run on Scotch Road and The Madison on Lower Ferry Road.

The council's approval is needed for the proposed zoning changes on the second Lower Ferry Road site at the intersection of Phillips Boulevard.

Last November the council voted to change the zoning off Bear Tavern Road from industrial to residential to allow American Properties to build high-density residences on a 28-acre tract between Trenton-Mercer Airport and Interstate 95 opposite the Jones Farm Correctional facility. American Properties bought the tract for $1.5 million at state auction.

The company wants to build 270 condominiums on the site. The proposal has been on the planning board's agenda for three months, but at each meeting the hearing has been postponed.
Two months ago the township council accepted a $1 million gift of land from American Properties for a new senior center.

Planning board officials voted to recommend rezoning the Lower Ferry Road property from industrial to multiresidential, saying that with the future development of the Atchley Tract by the Opus Group, there will be a need for more residential units in the township. Officials said having housing near businesses fits in with the state's smart growth plans. Some said it is better than having people commute from other towns.

A few residents questioned the effect the new homes would have on the schools system. They were told that legally the township can not base approvals on such considerations. Officials said they expect the number of school-age children to be low and said the Scotch Run complex, which has more than 100 units, only has 5 children.

Other residents and one board member said they preferred to see better ratables developed on the site.

The planning board recommended that the zoning be changed from office park to residential at 1573 Parkside Ave., the former headquarters of New Jersey Network that has been vacant for more than 10 years.

K. Hovnanian Homes wants to build 54 town houses and garden apartments on the four-acre site.