Hearing on Luxury Apartment Complex Proposed for East Windsor Postponed

Update

The continued hearing at the Inland Wetlands Watecourse Agency meeting tonight for a proposed apartment complex at the corner of Phelps Road and South Main Street in East Windsor has been postponed until August 1, officials said.

Original Story:

The corner of Phelps Road and South Main Street in East Windsor could look at lot different in the future if a local developer has his way.

Gardner Chapman is proposing a 480-unit luxury apartment complex on more than 100 acres located on what is now primarily agricultural property with frontage along the two state roads (Rtes. 5 and 191). In April, the project received the necessary zoning text amendments and it is now before the town’s wetlands commission.

The project, which will be built on property currently owned by Helen Maciolek, Titus Realty, and Estate of Pauline Putriment, located at 111 and 115 S. Main St. and 49 Phelps Rd., includes three phases of construction and an elaborate drainage plan.

The Inland Wetlands Watercourse Agency hearing is scheduled to resume Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the town hall. At that time the applicant could present more information regarding two species of animals found on the property, the northern leopard frog and the Horace’s Duskywing Butterfly; clarify on the drainage plan; and address concerns raised by some Phelps Road residents at the opening of the hearing on June 6.

The project will be built in three phases, with the first two being completed in an area that has primarily been used for growing row crops. The development includes an entrance on Route 5 across from Winton Road, which would create a 4-way intersection. To prepare the property for the work, three existing homes will be razed along with multiple tobacco sheds and garages.

In June, Tim Coon, a project engineer with of J. R. Russo and Associates, LLC, told the commission that the first phase will include a clubhouse, maintenance building, a basketball and tennis court, the construction of a portion of Lawrence Farm Lane and the north loop, which are part of the proposed 8,600 feet of new roadway on the property. Once the road is in place the first 19 buildings will be constructed.

The second phase includes the construction of the southern loop and the next 12 buildings before the third phase, which will be built primarily on the eastern side of the property, is completed, Coon said, according to meeting minutes. The final phase includes the completion of the roadway system and the remaining 17 buildings.

Public water and sewer will be extended to the site from South Main Street and also natural gas, according to plans in file in the town’s development office and minutes from the June meeting.

Of the 48 buildings, about 25 are proposed to be built in the upland review area, according to a wetlands commissioner.

About 82 acres of the 168 total will be used for the construction with the remaining 86 acres proposed for a conservation easement.

During his presentation to the wetlands commission in June, the developer’s representative, Jay Ussery of J. R. Russo and Associates, LLC, said that the easement, or proposed open space, “abuts and would then become part of an open space corridor running from Craftsman Road to the 350 acre Flaherty Field Trial area owned by the State on Tromley Road (which can be used for passive recreation),” according to meeting minutes.

If the wetlands agency approves Chapman's application, the developer must still secure permits from the State Traffic Commission and the town planning commission.