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Politics & Government

Route 1 Redevelopment Hearing Continues Oct. 10

Last week there was more testimony about proposed redevelopment of the Mrs. G property and adjacent vacant lots along Route 1 at Bakers Basin Road. Testimony will resume Oct. 10.

 

Testimony concerning the proposed redevelopment of the Mrs. G TV and Appliances property and adjacent vacant lots that form the southeastern corner of the intersection of Route 1/Brunswick Pike and Bakers Basin Road continued during on Sept. 19 and will resume at the Lawrence Township Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting on Oct. 10.

As part of the proposal, existing buildings on the properties – including the current Mrs. G showroom, a vacant business, an abandoned diner and three unoccupied homes – would be demolished. Constructed in their place would be five stand-alone buildings that would house a new Mrs. G. store, a McDonald’s restaurant, a Wawa convenience store with fuel pumps and a TD Bank branch. A tenant has yet to be secured for the fifth building.

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During last week’s meeting, Charles Olivo, the professional engineer for developer 2012 Lawrenceville Associates, fielded questions from zoning board members about measures being taken to address excess stormwater runoff on the site. Olivo described the mechanics of an underground storm water basin and the construction of a drainage ditch. 

Kevin Moore, a lawyer representing the Shell gas station located on the opposite side of Route 1, questioned Olivo on the results of geotechnical testing of the properties to be redeveloped. Olivo said all samples gathered from the site were in compliance with state Department of Environmental Protection and township standards.

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Architects from McDonald's and TD Bank, meanwhile, appeared before the board and addressed elevation, signage and design elements of their proposed buildings.

Debbie Schaeffer, owner of Mrs. G TV and Appliances, compared her current store with the new Mrs. G building being proposed and described both as mainly being showrooms for the merchandise she sells.

When testimony resumes during the special meeting on Oct. 10, James Kochenour, the zoning board's traffic consultant, is expected to question project representatives about how local traffic will be affected by the redevelopment plan. Representatives from Wawa are also scheduled to make a presentation about their proposed building and operations.

The plan is before the zoning board because a number of conditional use and bulk variances are needed with regard to the presence of gasoline and diesel pumps at the Wawa, the number of buildings to be built, the amount of parking that would be available, the types of signs the businesses would like to erect, the luminosity levels of some lights that would be on at night, how the sidewalks would be laid out, what types of trees would be used for landscaping, and other design elements.

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