FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – An approved age-restricted affordable housing project will be expanded from 67 to 75 apartments pending memorialization of a resolution by the Freehold Township Planning Board.
In 2017, the board approved an application submitted by PIRHL Acquisitions LLC, Wemrock Senior Living to construct a three-story apartment building on Business Route 33 near an entrance to the Freehold Raceway Mall.
Wemrock Senior Living was approved as a three-story building with 67 age-restricted one- and two-bedroom apartments to be made available to seniors whose income meets certain guidelines, according to the engineer who represented the applicant. The apartment building will be served by public water and sewer service.
On April 19, the applicant came before the board to request permission to construct eight additional dwelling units. Attorney Clint Allen, of the firm Archer and Greiner, Haddonfield, said the current proposal would yield 75 affordable housing units and increase the building from three stories to four stories. A total of 77 parking spaces will be provided at the site.
Jeff Fiore, of Maser Consulting, representing the applicant, said a conservative estimate is that each apartment will have one car. He said the 77 parking spaces would be sufficient. No one on the board objected to the number of parking spaces to be provided.
The 7.3-acre property where the apartment building will be constructed is in a planned adult community overlay zone and an apartment building is a permitted use in that zone. The applicant will not construct a sidewalk along Route 33.
The parcel is along Business Route 33 eastbound, between Wemrock Road and Cardigan Bay Lane, which is an entrance road to the mall. The property is bordered by woods, the mall and the Freehold Hebrew Benefit Society cemetery.
Murray Kaplan, representing the Freehold Hebrew Benefit Society, expressed concern on two points.
First, he said he is concerned there will not be enough parking at the apartment building and that overflow parking will occur at the cemetery. Second, Kaplan said there is concern that residents of the apartment building will walk through the cemetery to reach the adjacent Freehold Raceway Mall.
Lara Schwager, representing PIRHL Acquisitions, said the developer does not envision the elderly residents of the building walking to the mall. She said it is the developer’s intention to provide bus service for residents to shopping destinations and medical appointments. Schwager told Kaplan the developer would post signs on its property stating there is no parking permitted at the cemetery.
Mayor Anthony Ammiano, who sits on the board, said, “This is a very nice looking project, it is very well done.”
Board members voted unanimously to have the panel’s attorney prepare a positive resolution approving the eight additional apartments. The resolution of approval will be memorialized during a future meeting of the board.
Schwager said construction of the Wemrock Senior Living building is expected to start in the fall.
