Hearings continue on J&J, Permacel
Developers say they’ll work with No. Bruns. on futures of tracts
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

Contract purchasers of the Johnson & Johnson and Permacel properties on Route 1 said a lot without saying much at the North Brunswick Planning Board’s special information session Tuesday.

Garden Commercial Properties, the potential purchasers of Johnson & Johnson, did not present any detailed plans for a redevelopment scenario at the meeting. Instead, they said that the township will be integral in giving input as to how they would like to see the property handled.

“We have the opportunity now to plan the next generation of what the property will be,” Garden Commercial Director of Planning and Development John Taikina said. “We will get hands-on and decide the best choices for North Brunswick. ... We want us to do what the town wants us to do.”

Taikina said the approach to develop the 210-acre site, the single largest property in the township, is based on the theme of the master plan review sessions over the summer of promised open forums and public commitment. He said he sat through the sessions and heard the residents’ requests for a community center, teen center, new library, community pool and more affordable senior housing. He also mentioned the importance of traffic control in the area.

“We understand all of these issues have to be talked about around this property,” he said.

Although the most prominent discussion surrounding the site is a transit village, Taikina said 50 residents could have 50 different definitions of a village. According to the state, the high-density housing surrounding such a village must attract new riders for the transit line; therefore, Governor’s Pointe and Renaissance would not be appropriate housing. As a result, Taikina said, Trenton would look at the site as it exists, but it would not compete favorably among the other 100 or so towns competing for a transit village unless new housing is constructed.

Although Garden Commercial, due to own the property by the end of 2005, has not built a transit village, they have built all of the separate components elsewhere including retail, industrial, hotel conference centers, residential areas and affordable and luxury senior housing, according to Taikina. They have hired the Hillier group of Princeton to assist with the architectural components.

However the township plans to develop the site, Taikina said there will be continued retention of portions of the property by J&J, which will lease the space as tenants. Five hundred employees will remain on site for the current operations of research and office facilities. GAF Building Materials is also housed on the property, and their leasing options will be discussed once the new development scenario is finalized.

Resident Mary Pinkham commented that for any development plan, she would like to see a connection between Renaissance Square on Route 130, which Garden Commercial built, and the J&J property. Resident Mario Gianvito agreed, saying that a walk or bike path should be created with a possible monorail system for senior citizens. He also mentioned that North Brunswick is missing a downtown, Main Street feel to it, with outdoor bistros, a park, an amphitheater and a commuter parking garage. He said any new housing should attract young couples and newlyweds as to provide new ridership from a New Jersey Transit standpoint.

Seagis Property Group, the contract purchasers of the Permacel property, presented a more detailed suggestion of how to use their property. The 30-acre, 350,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility would utilize its neighbors Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Technology Centre of New Jersey to “bring some new life to the process”, according to Seagis principal Charlie Lee.

The proposal is to create a light manufacturing/distribution/assembly facility within the current zoning of the property. The interior would be demolished and the exterior would be spruced up with new landscaping. No additional square footage is anticipated; instead some smaller buildings will be removed to increase functionality and circulation. The facility, to be comprised of several unknown third-party tenants, would not compete with the Economic Development Authority but instead be an ancillary use to the Technology Centre, according to Lee.

Resident Bob Schweitzer was concerned about chemical leakage into Succer Brook, to which he was told the new facility would “absolutely not” dump anything into the brook, according to Dave Gibbons, the senior vice president in charge of New Jersey.

Director of Community Development Thomas Vigna suggested that the master plan process be delayed three to four months to allow for all of the considerations to be taken into account.