August 8, 2006

Transit stop possible in North Brunswick

GENE RACZ
Staff Writer

The state Department of Transportation and NJ Transit have authorized funds to study the feasibility of a new transit stop at the former Johnson & Johnson campus, according to Mayor Francis Womack.

The 212-acre site located along Route 1 was acquired earlier this year by North Brunswick TOD Associates, LLC — an affiliate of Garden Homes and Garden Commercial Properties.
While plans for the 1.2 million square feet of warehouse, office and laboratory buildings will focus on re-leasing the property to tenants in the short-term, the long-term possibilities for redevelopment of the 212-acre site are staggering.

Some of the ideas currently on the table:

Expanded parking facilities would accompany the plans.

Garden Homes and Garden Properties, based in Kendall Park, is managed by the Wilf family. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. According to J&J spokesman, Marc Monseau, J&J is still leasing space at the site. J&J, headquartered in New Brunswick, maintains approximately 11,500 employees statewide.

Womack cited several reasons why the site would be appropriate for a transit village.
He noted:

The stop could be accessed from Route 130. The potential stop would be located midway between the Princeton Junction and New Brunswick commuter rail stations. This 14-mile spread between the two stations is the longest span on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor line without a station stop.

While Womack is excited by the redevelopment potential, he said he remains cautious in making sure planning decisions will be appropriate for township residents — particularly in terms of density and congestion concerns.

He said he welcome input into the planning process which is well under way.

"The township is fully in support of investigation into the use of the property and facility," said Womack. "J&J had retained the offices, but the manufacturing unit was down for a couple of years. But we hope that re-leasing the property will be the use in the short run.

"The possibility of an appropriate transit village would be an opportunity for North Brunswick to cooperate with the state's office of New Jersey Smart Growth, the Department of Transportation and the developer to take control of our destiny and our place in the region.

"With a transit village, the devil is in the details, and we still must complete a town-wide discussion with significant resident involvement about what kind of density and buildings are appropriate at the village.

"Ultimately, the community involvement in this process will be the deciding factor."
According to Womack, North Brunswick has already held "a series of three to four meetings" sponsored by the new property owners to get public comment by residents. He said they were attended by "a couple hundred people."

"Whether it's a transit vilage or an office warehouse, we feel that the purchaser is very capable," said Mayor Womack. "In terms of the traffic that might be generated and the population density that might be appropriate, a township-wide decision is something that, over the next couple of years, will have a large amount of community meetings and involvement.

"We're going to continue a series of these township meetings."
Garden Commercial has set up a Web site — www.ourtowncenter.info — with information on the property.