Retirement News : Seniors : Ok 138 Senior Housing Units in Lower Township

Ok 138 Senior Housing Units in Lower Township

Date Added: 14-04-2005

VILLAS - Lower Township zoners last week approved construction of two projects with a total of 138 housing units for seniors.
One, by Amusement Partnership USA, would build expensive townhouses for senior citi-zens at 705 Route 9 in Erma, next to the high school.
The zoning board issued a variance April 7 to allow construction of 48, age-restricted townhouses on the current site of a storage yard and office for amusement rides.
Later in the evening, the board approved a variance and minor subdivision for Conifer Re-alty LLC to build 90 rental apartments for seniors adjacent to Victoria Manor at 3809 Bay-shore Road.
Attorney Robert Sandman led testimony for the proposed townhouses, located directly south of Lower Cape May Regional High School on the former site of Cape Concrete.
He said those purchasing units would sign a document acknowledging a school was next door with the possibility of noise from the parking lot, football games and band practice.
Anthony Catanoso, of Amusement Partnerships, said the townhouses would range in price from $325,000 to $450,000. At least one family member would be required to be age 55, with no children permitted.
Project Engineer Vince Orlando said municipal land-use laws encouraged affordable senior housing.
“In your mind, is this project with units between $300,000 and $400,000, qualify as af-fordable senior citizen housing?” asked board member David Brand.
Orlando said the determination was not based on price and would count towards re-quirements of the Coalition on Affordable Housing.
“I'm not saying these are affordable because you heard the price,” he said. “In today's market, I guess they are somewhat affordable.”
He said the project would take a commercial use and create a residential use.
Initially, Catanoso was seeking to build 64 units, then 56, dropping to 48 by meeting's end as a concession to density questions from the board.
Orlando said the roughly 12-acre site had wetlands requiring buffers in two locations. He said 40 percent of the rear of the property was not being developed.
The site was zoned R-2 which would only permit 22 single-family homes without a zoning change, he said.
The townhouses would be two-story with most living space on the first floor other than a bedroom and den.
Brand questioned if the site was included on the state 208 Plan to receive water and sewer service. The board's approval was made subject to water and sewer approval.
Orlando presented the results of a traffic study indicated 48 town homes for senior citi-zens would generate less traffic than 22 single-family homes.
Brand questioned if traffic from Lower Township's Bennett's Crossing recreation complex, just north of the high school, was taken into account in the traffic study. Orlando said David Shropshire who also prepared a traffic study for expansion of the high school two years conducted his study.
Attorney Peter Tourison, representing Lower Cape May Regional High School's Board of Education, said the school district was not concerned with town houses being built next door to the school. He said there was some concern about water use since the high school's well went dry one year ago, requiring the drilling of an expensive replacement well.
In the second project, Conifer Realty LLC received a use variance and minor subdivision approval to construct 90 senior rental apartments in a three-story building between Victoria Manor and Victoria Commons.
Attorney Charles Sandman said rents would range from $600 to $1,200 month. He said the entire property had previously been approved for up to 360 units.
The complex would use existing driveways.
Vincent Cangelosi, of Conifer Realty LLC, of Rochester, N.Y., said the developer managed 9,000 housing units in four states. He noted Victoria Manor and Commons will continue to be owned by another corporation, the Genesis Health Ventures.
Cangelosi said 20 percent of the apartments would be affordable to low-income seniors. He said the project received preliminary approval for water and sewer service from Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority.
The apartments would be considered as part “continuing care community,” feeding clients into the neighboring assisted living facility and nursing home.
Cangelosi said the property was purchased from bankruptcy court.
Conifer Realty will be required to return to the board for site plan approval.

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