The long-vacant home on eastbound Route 70 in Cherry Hill near the Old Orchard development was demolished to make way for new residences.
Construction of a three-story affordable-housing apartment complex with 64 one-bedroom units on eastbound Route 70 west of Old Orchard Road is expected to begin later this year, with the exterior of the three-story building complete by late next spring, according to the nonprofit developer.
VOADV Property Inc., doing business as Lilly's Place LP — part of the Volunteers of America, Delaware Valley — will build 52 senior independent-living apartments and 12 for those with supportive needs on the 4.74-acre property. All of the apartments will be counted toward the Township's affordable housing commitment.
The developer will demolish a vacant home on the site, which is between St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and the First Korean United Methodist Church of Cherry Hill.
Members of the Cherry Hill Zoning Board of Adjustment gave major-site-plan approval and adopted a resolution outlining the project at their May 15 meeting.
VOADV took over the 1991 Route 70 East project in 2023 from former developer Fortitude Realty LLC, which in 2019 received Township approval for much of the project. The property was purchased in January for $1.6 million, according to Township records.
The back of the property abuts the Wexford Leas Swim Club and the backyards of homes on Highgate Lane. In the zoning resolution, the developer agrees to a 100-foot landscape buffer at the back of the property near the homes. At the request of residents, VOADV also agreed to increase the height of the fence next to the swim club to eight feet from the six-foot fence that was planned.
The property that will be developed is in the orange border. The developer has agreed to a 100-foot buffer at the rear of the property abutting Highgate Lane.
At the public hearing on the project, the developer was asked if construction would impact the Wexford Leas Swim Club's season.
Owen McCabe, president of properties for Volunteers of America construction, said the schedule calls for outdoor construction to begin after the swim club season ends this September and be completed before the 2026 swim club season begins, according to the resolution.
In the resolution, the developer said it would try to preserve all healthy and mature trees at the site and that a total of 117 replacement trees will be planted on the property.
Apartments will not be new to that part of Route 70. The Residence at Cherry Hill, an assisted-living facility, is on the other side of St. Bartholomew's and the Dwell at Cherry Hill Apartments are across Route 70, on the westbound side.
A rendering of the planned affordable housing on Route 70.
