January 14 , 2008

Fiscal roadblock may stall plan
No. Brunswick transit village tab tops $100M

By RICHARD KHAVKINE
STAFF WRITER

NORTH BRUNSWICK — To become reality, the transit village concept envisioned for the former Johnson & Johnson property will require patience, unity of purpose and a frank appraisal of the possibilities, Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack said at his State of the Township address last week.

But mostly the project and associated road improvements will need money, which, Womack cautioned, could be the greatest obstacle given the state's intractable fiscal difficulties.

The project has been endorsed, at least on paper, by several of the state agencies that would be involved in a transit village undertaking at the 212-acre site.

One Department of Environmental Protection official called the concept "an innovative reuse of the presently underutilized site."

But whatever public and official support for the project exists, it must be met with an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars for it to go from concept to execution.

While NJ Transit late last year expressed support for the concept, it also said its implementation "will be a complex undertaking."

The agency estimates that construction of a new station — "an essential criteria" for any municipality applying for the state to approve funding for a transit village, according to application guidelines — would cost "more than $100 million."

Associated modifications — to the rail line, Route 1 and other improvements — would add up to "a substantial addition to the $100 million," according to NJ Transit.

Notwithstanding those challenges, and recognizing that the 14-mile gap between the Jersey Avenue station in New Brunswick and Princeton Junction needs narrowing, the agency continues to explore alternatives, it said.

While the state agency support is "a major step forward," Womack said, the township must now assure Gov. Jon S. Corzine and other officials of the viability of — and the need for — the project.

"This kind of project isn't just good for North Brunswick . . . it is a smart growth project that benefits the entire region and the state," Womack said.

The former Johnson & Johnson campus, including its 1.2 million square feet of building space, was purchased by North Brunswick TOD Associates, LLC, an affiliate of Garden Homes and Garden Commercial Properties, in summer 2006.

Notwithstanding existing fiscal obstacles, communities must make a commitment to growth in jobs, housing and population; already have a transit component, such as a rail or bus transfer station; have suitable open space to accommodate a transit village; have a requisite zoning plan; and an increase in residential development.

To further bolster their chances for approval, municipalities must also have or demonstrate a commitment to nine other smart growth principles, among them a need for mass transit, and existing or planned-for bicycle and pedestrian paths, affordable housing and support of local arts and culture.

To help it parse through some of those requirements, the former DOT commissioner Jack Lettiere has joined North Brunswick TOD's planning team.

TOD's managing partner, Jonathan Frieder, said Lettiere brings a singular expertise to the venture. "He's a nuts-and-bolts transportation guy," Frieder said of Lettiere, who also chaired the NJ Transit Board of Directors and served on several other state agency boards. "He's a true transportation expert and so he brings a level of understanding about these major projects and how to finance these major projects. He's able to speak that language."

Other than a regional commuter train station, one of the developer's proposals for the site comprises 13 mixed-use, retail-office-loft residential buildings; 22 residential loft buildings; and 18 duplex loft buildings; and a minimum 550,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

Womack has said that design, density and other details will be part of open and public discussion if and when the transit village proposal comes before the township Planning Board.

Meanwhile, the developer, a subsidiary of Short Hills-based Garden Commercial Properties, is galvanizing public support for the project. "This a poster child for where the state's policies are pointing," Frieder said this week.

The project, he said, "is a such unique opportunity for the state to meet all of the policy goals that they have set in land use, in clean energy, in sustainable design, in economic development and transportation and . . . affordable housing."

The developer, which hosted a series of public workshops to both outline its vision and to invite proposals from the community, subsequently commissioned looking at the demographic, fiscal, traffic and other impacts and potential benefits of the project. One of the studies' findings estimates that the project could bring the township 15 to 20 times the current $1.7 million in annual property taxes.

The township Planning Board is parsing through the studies and is hiring consultants to review the developer's concepts, Womack said.

"This is, and must be, an unrushed deliberate process," he said during his address.