One option for a residential development with affordable housing units is on four acres of wooded land on Route 73 between the PSE&G substation and the Lincoln Drive intersection, according to the report.
A report issued this week detailing how Evesham may fulfill its latest round of affordable housing obligations suggests replacing two shopping centers with housing and also building on four acres of wooded land along Route 73.
Municipalities across New Jersey are putting together their plans for the fourth phase of affordable housing from the Mount Laurel decision of 1975. Affordable housing commitments can be fulfilled with a combination of very low- to moderate-income units, age-restricted units aimed at senior citizens and units for people with special needs.
Evesham's fourth-round obligation called for the new construction of 220 affordable housing units, but because of the availability of vacant land and other factors that total has been adjusted to a "Realistic Development Potential" of 130 affordable units, but the minimum units required may be 97 because of bonus credits, according to the May 5 report to Evesham by Christopher N. Dochney, a professional planner with CME Associates of Camden. Bonus credits come from specific types of housing, such as that for special needs residents or affordable units developed on land previously used for retail or office space.
Another option would be to redevelop the Crisipin Square shopping center into 196 apartments, of which 39 would be affordable housing. The anchor space at the center, shown here, has sat "vacant for many years," according to the Evesham report.
A public hearing on the plan is scheduled at the May 15 meeting of the Township Planning Board, after which board members will decide whether to recommend it to the Township Council, which makes the final decision.
"Within Evesham Township, the lands that are most appropriate for development with new affordable housing are generally those areas of the town on the north and west sides of the township," Dochney wrote in the 457-page report. "The southern and eastern portions of the Township are located within the Pinelands Management Area."
Yet another option would be a site at Route 73 and Dutchtown Road near the Voorhees border that formerly was approved for an assisted-living facility, according to the report.
He added: "Most of the township within the Pinelands is also located outside of a designated sewer service area, limiting the availability of infrastructure necessary to support dense development."
Development options, he wrote, include:
- Demolish the garden office Marlton Crossing complex at Centre Boulevard and replacing it with 325 apartments. Township Council in February approved the redevelopment of the site with a four-story building that will include 24 family rental units for low- and moderate-income households and 25 special needs units.
- Redevelop the Crispin Square Shopping Center at Church Road and Church Street into residential housing. "This parcel is an older and larger shopping center that has had its anchor tenant space sit vacant for many years," Dochney wrote. The potential is to build 196 total units, of which 39 would be affordable housing.
- Build on heavily wooded land on Route 73 between Lincoln Drive and the PSE&G substation. A total of 35 townhouses or apartments could be built on the four acres, and seven units would be earmarked as affordable housing, according to the report.Â
- Redevelop the shopping center at Route 70, near Route 73 and Blue Anchor Street on the edge of downtown Marlton. The site could accommodate a total of 114 units, of which 23 could be affordable housing for families, according to the report.
- Build on nine acres of vacant land at Route 73 and Dutch Road near the Voorhees border. Oakleigh Development Group in 2020 got zoning board approval to build a 100-bed assisted living facility, but has since dropped the project, according to the affordable housing report. About four acres could be developed and accommodate 84 units, with 17 of them affordable housing, according to the report.
- Redevelop the roller-skating rink property on Evesboro-Medford Road and build 24 units, of which five would be affordable.
Except for the Marlton Crossing redevelopment, the options are suggestions from the affordable housing consultant and not necessarily projects that would come to fruition.
The Marlton Crossing office complex on Centre Boulevard that is planned for redevelopment into 325 apartments, of which 49 would be affordable or for those with special needs.
In the first two rounds of affordable housing, Evesham added the equivalent of 534 units through actual construction or Regional Housing Agreements purchased from other municipalities. The third round, from 2015 to 2025, includes 532 actual units and 170 rental bonus credits for specific types of affordable housing.Â
