Evesham redevelopment plan: Up to 325 residential units could replace a Centre Boulevard office complex.

As many as 325 residential units in multifamily buildings up to four stories high may be built on property that now holds garden offices at Centre Boulevard and Old Marlton Pike behind the Marlton Crossing Shopping Center on Route 73.

The Centre Boulevard Redevelopment Plan for the underused, 38-year-old Marlton Crossing office complex will be considered by the Township Planning Board on Thursday night after a public hearing on the plan. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Town Hall at 984 Tuckerton Road, but it also can be viewed as a livestream, with details on how to connect here.

A recommendation by the Planning Board then would go to Township Council for a vote. Council in August 2022 voted to designate the office park as an area in need of redevelopment. The new detailed redevelopment plan was submitted to the Township on January 17 by Heyer, Gruel & Associates of Red Bank, Monmouth County.

The redevelopment plan decision suggests what uses could work for the site. The owner or another developer still would need to apply to the Township for approval of specific project plans. 

Under the new plan, 15% of the residential units would be affordable and made available to rent by low- and moderate-income families. If the developer constructs a maximum 325 units, 49 would be set aside as affordable.

"The purpose of the Centre Boulevard Redevelopment Plan is to permit the redevelopment of the existing, aging office park at 100-112 Centre Boulevard into a multifamily residential development supported by Smart Growth principles such as walkability, compact design and varied land use," according to the January plan.

As an office complex, 82,317 square feet has been leasable in the seven buildings on the 10-acre property that is owned by Marlton Crossing LLC, according to the 2022 report. The complex was sold in 1999 for $6 million.

No mention is made of possible property tax breaks, which often are offered as an incentive to redevelop property.

The buildings could include parking structures that would be wrapped by residential units and screened from view from the public right-of-way, according to the plan. Surface parking also would be permitted.

An existing landscape buffer around the property should be maintained, according to the plan.

Township open space/recreation rules would require an outdoor swimming pool, outdoor courtyards, indoor or outdoor recreational space for children, with at least half of it outdoors, according to the plan. A minimum of 5,000 square feet would be set aside for community space.

The redevelopment plan also calls for the developer to work with the Township to evaluate the feasibility of designating the residential complex a community solar project. 

The buildings would be smoke-free throughout.