American Properties Proposes Nearly 1,000 Residential Units for Rural Community

In initial plans filed with the two communities, the Iselin, NJ-based developer's Villages at Musconetcong project would fairly evenly divide the largely age-restricted and active-adult housing between the two towns. The 156-acre Bloomsbury portion of the sprawling project, according to company officials, would include a total of 516 units consisting of a mix of condominiums, townhouses, apartment and detached homes.

The Bethlehem Towmship portion of the project, situated on a total of 284 acres, would consist of 471 residential units. The general site plan also calls about 30,000 sf of commercial space, mostly retail, a 25,000-sf recreation center and more than 290 acres of open space. The 30,000-sf commercial building would be topped off by 20 apartment units on its second floor.

American Properties officials are slated to initiate the formal approval process with a presentation before the Bloomsbury Planning Board early next week. While local officials decline to formally comment on the plans pending that and future public meetings, private reaction to the proposal is decidedly mixed. For one thing, officials are concerned about the size and potential impact on the Villages of Musconetcong.

For one thing, the nearly 1,000 units could be expected to add at least 2,000 people to a local population that currently totals only about 4,800 people in the two communities combined. For Bloomsbury, which has just under 900 people, its 516-unit portion of the project "would double the population of the town," according to one local official.

Another major hurdle for American Properties could be new state regulations controlling development within 300 feet of many of New Jersey's waterways, rules that were proposed earlier this year by the administration of Gov. James McGreevey. The site is also in a rural area targeted for no-growth under general guidelines issued last year by the McGreevey administration (see earlier stories).