Washington Township - Robbinsville - Kushner Tract Waiver - July 2007

In mid-July, the state Local Finance Board approved a waiver for a $635,000 down payment that Washington Township is expected to use to purchase the 72-acre Kushner tract on the south side of Town Center. The approval paved the way for the Township Council to unanimously approve a $12.7 million bond ordinance for the Kushner tract purchase, and designate itself as the redevelopment authority. The redevelopment authority administers the redevelopment process for all actions within the municipality.

Last April, Washington Township Mayor David Fried announced that the Township had signed a letter of intent to purchase the Kushner tract. The deal eliminated 267 previously approved housing units from being built on that property, allowing township officials to eventually rezone the property for commercial uses or age-restricted housing. Township Officials estimate that by eliminating the construction of the 267 residential units in Town Center, they are preventing anywhere from 150 to 450 new students entering into the already cash-strapped school system.

In addition, officials claim that the deal eliminates many of problems that have been delaying the development of both sides of Town Center. For example, the proposed Southerly Bypass connecting Washington Boulevard with Route 130 in Hamilton, which the state is no longer willing to fund, might not even be necessary now without the additional housing.

The bypass had been touted as a necessity so that Route 33 from Washington Boulevard to Route 526 could be turned into the Town Center's Main Street. It would have been one lane in each direction with a 5- foot shoulder. Main Street would have had one lane in each direction with on-street parking and a bike lane. Half of the proposed bypass would have rested in Hamilton. The Township Council passed a resolution in June asking the Planning Board to investigate whether the tract meets designation as an area in need of redevelopment, and officials are meeting with the state DOT to redesign the road layout.