Orleans lays out plan for adult community
Wildflower at Marlboro will include 2 buildings of affordable rentals
BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer

MARLBORO - A proposed 168-home age-restricted adult community has been unveiled for the Planning Board and members of the public.

Attorney Kenneth Pape, representing Orleans Home Builders, began presenting an application for Wildflower at Marlboro during the board's meeting May 7.

In addition to 168 detached homes that will be age-restricted, Orleans plans to build two three-story buildings that will contain a total of 50 apartments that will be rented to people whose income meets regional guidelines established by the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

Pape told the board that the proposal for Wildflower at Marlboro is the application that has resulted from a legal settlement between the township and the owners of the 75-acre parcel known as the Bluh and Batelli property. He said the applicant, which is the contract purchaser of the property, must provide the affordable rental family apartments under the terms of the settlement.

The property has frontage on Church Lane, Tennent Road and Route 79 in the Morganville section of the community. The parcel is in the vicinity of the Marlboro Little League complex.

Pape said Orleans Home Builders is a 90-year-old family company that is now in its third generation. He said the company was permitted to apply for up to 200 market rate homes, but voluntarily reduced that number by 32 homes and is seeking approval for 168 market-rate, age-restricted homes.

The presentation included overviews provided by the team of professionals who have worked on the project. They are Gary Vecchio, a professional engineer and designer of the project; architect William Feinberg; technical engineer William Underwood; traffic engineer David Horner; and environmental consultant Mark Selover.

Details on the application will continue to be heard at the board'sMay 21 meeting. Pape informed the board that according to the legal settlement, the application must be acted upon within 75 days of the initial presentation, which was May 7.

Vecchio described the Wildflower at Marlboro project as one that will be built on two pieces of property: a 21-acre parcel that will contain 50 age-restricted homes and the two buildings with the affordable housing units, and a 54-acre parcel that will contain 118 age-restricted homes, a clubhouse, pool and other amenities. The Henry Hudson Trail divides the two parcels and there is no road planned to connect them.

In response to a question from one of the Planning Board members, Pape said the residents of the apartment buildings will not be permitted to use the clubhouse, pool and other amenities because they will not be residents of the adult community.

The project will have public water and public sewer service, Vecchio said. A total of 40 percent of the site will remain as open space.

In his presentation, Horner said the only access point for the 21-acre parcel will be from Tennent Road. Access points for the 54-acre parcel will be from Tennent Road and from Route 79.

"We intend to meet all the requirements of the county and state for Tennent Road (Monmouth County Route 3) and Route 79 (a state highway)," Horner told the board.

There are environmental issues that will be remediated prior to construction, Selover told the board during his presentation. He described the property as a former orchard and said greenhouses were also located there. He said investigators have identified solid waste such as debris near the greenhouses, wood and abandoned vehicles, which will all be removed.

In addition to the solid waste, soil contamination consistent with orchard use was found. In response to a board member's question, Selover said the primary contaminant of the soil is arsenic. He said the contaminated soil will be excavated and removed from the site.

Selover said Orleans will voluntarily clean the property with oversight from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). At the end of the remediation process a "no further action" letter will be sought from the DEP, which will state that the site has been sufficiently cleaned.

Pape told the board, "As we make submissions to the DEP, we will make submissions to you so that you know what is happening. Our goal is to secure a 'no further action' letter for the entire property."

Feinberg, the project architect, described the adult community homes that will be built as "high-end, luxury-type product." Several models will be offered, with homes ranging in size from about 1,800 square feet to about 2,400 square feet. The homes generally have two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage, he said.

The clubhouse, which Orleans calls a "lifestyle center," according to Feinberg, will be 6,000 square feet and include meeting rooms, an exercise room, a great room, a card room and a game room. Outdoor amenities will include a pool, tennis courts and bocce courts.

The two affordable housing apartment buildings will have 26 and 24 units, respectively. There will be a mix of one-, twoand three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from about 750 square feet to about 1,150 square feet. No elevators will be provided in the apartment buildings. The affordable housing apartments will be open to people of any age, Feinberg said.

Pape noted that individuals who want to rent an apartment will have to have their income qualified under COAH guidelines. Half of the apartments will be set aside for individuals who have low income, as defined by COAH, with the remaining 50 percent of the apartments set aside for individuals who have moderate income, as defined by COAH for the region that includes Monmouth County.