My question is, do we have enought space for school children????????  We  just built a million dollar highschool and regalign all grades-- my property taxes here in bordentown city went up another 15% this year!  I have school aged children - when we built the new school, it wasn't based on all this new housing.  New  Housing-how many more children to educate?  How many more cars on Rt. 120/206.  The township is looking at the tax ratiables, not at how it will affect overcrowding at our area schools.  We have Robert Wood Johnson mega-gym.  I just  don't get it.  Yes,  something needs to replace the acme.  I agree on  that one, but more houses?  I hope not.

Read article below from the Bordentown Register news, by  By: Cara Latham, Staff Writer 06/28/2007 

 

Town center plans advance??????

 Township eyes redevelopment

   BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP - Township officials are hoping that initial plans presented earlier this month to redevelop two sites off Route 130 will continue the goal of promoting the town as a destination.
   According to Township Committeeman Mark Roselli, developers have presented ideas for a town center containing an estimated 180 housing units, stores and restaurants, off the north side of Route 130 and Farnsworth Avenue, and for redevelopment of the old Agway site - including a new fitness center - on Route 130 South.

The town center

   He said that Trenton-based Beazer Homes and Chancellor Development Group's proposed plans - which are in the initial stages - are to build a combination of houses, retail space and restaurants on about 30 to 40 acres near the north side of Route 130.
   Most of the land is vacant, Mr. Roselli said. The owner of the land is willing to sell the property and is under contract as an applicant with Beazer Homes already, Mr. Roselli said.
   The residential portion of the site - which will be done by Beazer Homes - will mimic the architecture of early Bordentown, he said. Those plans include a row of homes with a center common area, complete with a gazebo, "so that people can gather at an open space in the middle," Mr. Roselli said.
   While the total number of units for the town center has not yet been determined, the developer has been working with the township on a proposal to build around 180 townhouses, he said, adding that the number is not final.
   The houses will be a place where "people can sit on their steps and talk to each other," he said.
   In front of that, on Route 130, Chancellor Development wants to build the retail and commercial spaces, with a chain restaurant to attract people to the area.
   The plan for that space will also be good for the township because it will provide housing for the developmentally disabled, and for adults, which will fulfill part of the township's state affordable housing requirement, Mr. Roselli said. State law requires that for every eight residential units built, there has to also be one affordable unit.
   The number of affordable units being built there will be determined when the total number of housing units is final, he said.
   "We are fulfilling a need for people who are disadvantaged with first-class housing," Mr. Roselli said. "The town's been working with them for a few years now to make sure the density isn't too much," he added, saying they are working on integrating the two plans.
   Now, the proposals "are more along the lines of what we want," he said.
   The idea is still in its initial stages, and the developers will be reworking their plans, he said. The township would then have to come up with a redevelopment plan (for both the town center and Agway sites) and name the two companies as the project's redeveloper, before construction can begin, he said.
   "It's going to depend on the redevelopers," he said. "It'll go as fast as they want it to go. They said they want to start as soon as possible, hopefully in the next few months, with a final version, final plan."

The Old Agway site

   At the old Agway site, owned by Growmark FS and encompassing approximately 30 acres on Route 130 South, developer K. Johnson Enterprises of Hamilton plans to build a 72,000-square-foot first-class health, fitness and wellness center. There would also be 100,000 square feet of office space, Mr. Roselli said.
   "Agway has a lot of unused buildings, that all will be coming down," with the exception of the green silos, which will be incorporated into the landscaping, Mr. Roselli said.
   Those silos are currently being used by Purdue, which will continue to use them, he said. A small building in the back of the site, owned and operated by Growmark, will also be left.
   The site is proposed to have three total buildings - a center building housing the fitness center, with one side building being used for about 80,000 square feet of medical offices, and a second side building housing about 30,000 square feet of commercial businesses, he said.
   The presentation for the Agway site was made at the June 11 Township Committee meeting, he said. Growmark is under contract with K. Johnson Enterprises. Growmark is a consortium of farmers, and provides farming products like fertilizer and pesticides to area consumers.
   "They're at a position where they would like to come forward to the township, certainly within the next six or seven months," he said. "They have what they need, engineering-wise. They're ready to build."

Old Acme site

   While a presentation has not been made regarding the use of the old Acme site - a new Acme will be opening up shortly farther down on the south side of Route 130 - developers have been making inquiries about building there, Mr. Roselli said.
   "We want to make sure the right thing gets put there," Mr. Roselli said. "It only makes sense to try to work that side of the road with the northbound side, which is being developed in conjunction with the Beazer Town Center."
   Mr. Roselli said he has suggested to interested developers to try to contact various government agencies that may be interested in having offices located there, he said. One example could be a satellite office for the county clerk, a college or a post office, he added.

Township as a destination

   The plans for development of these sites fit in with the township's efforts to transform the township into a "destination" - to draw people to visit the township, a place where they can stay at one of the numerous hotels and dine at one of the community's many restaurants.
   Mr. Roselli said the township is finally seeing the fruits of its labor. "It's some of those major developments that we've been looking to attract to Bordentown Township."
   But these new redevelopment plans are not the only plans in sight for the township. In April, the township considered plans to redevelop an old salvage yard into a 97-acre waterfront property including a transit village of 685 townhomes and retail stores.
   The property, which extends into Fieldsboro and Mansfield, but mostly lies in Bordentown Township and includes a portion of Newbold Island, had been used until the 1980s as a shipyard. It is now a state-designated brownfield, a vacant contaminated industrial site. The presence of scrap metal has led to contamination of some of the soil on the property, but the company has said it wants to restore areas affected by contamination so that plants and wildlife can thrive there.
   The fact that there's so many individuals investing in developing the area is a good sign, Mr. Roselli said.
   The redevelopment, particularly the town center, will allow the township to have its own downtown, with its own parades, he said.
   "Government does work slow unfortunately, but you have to stick to it," he said, referencing the years of work put into the plans.

 

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