An application to redevelop part of the Princeton Pike Office Park at 3131 Princeton Pike into a mix of housing and retail is set for a public hearing Sept. 16 before the Lawrence Township Planning Board.
The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., will be held in the lower level conference room at the Lawrence Township Municipal Building.
The Lawrenceville Development Group LLC is seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval to demolish three office buildings and to construct 204 residential units – including 15% to be set aside for affordable housing – and 17,510 square feet of retail space in their place.
Of those 204 apartments, the developer’s plan calls for 93 one-bedroom apartments, 104 two-bedroom apartments and seven three-bedroom apartments spread among two buildings. There would be 369 parking spaces on-site and 17 parking spaces on an adjacent lot.
A two-story building is planned for the front portion of the property. It would have 17,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor and 28 apartments, most of them on the second floor. Amenities include a dog park, a boardwalk, and cafe seating and lounge seating.
A three-story apartment building that contains 176 rental apartments is planned for the rear of the property. It wraps around two inner courtyards that include a swimming pool, two fire pit lounges and a barbeque dining area.
The Community Impact Statement, which was included with the application, states that the development would likely attract a demographic mix of singles, young couples and families. It would be expected to generate about 50 students who would attend the Lawrence Township Public Schools.
The anticipated increase in student population should not affect the township’s existing public school facilities, which should readily absorb the expected student population without requiring any building additions or increase to teaching staff, according to the development’s Community Impact Statement.
The former Princeton Pike Office Park, which sits on 8.5 acres, was designated as a non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment by the Lawrence Township Council in 2023. The redevelopment plan grew out of a developer’s proposal to redevelop it into a mixed-use development.
The Princeton Pike Office Park consists of 275,000 square feet of office space in six office buildings. The office park was built in 1970. The application is focused on three of the six office buildings which total 105,000 square feet. Most of the three office buildings to be demolished are vacant.
