Town hall scheduled for Monday, August 25
Two citizens groups challenge township to ensure Kenvue is removed, and more
Is the NJ Affordable Housing Mandate Sustainable?
By Barbara A. Preston | August 22, 2025
After a public outcry, Montgomery Township’s elected leaders presented a new affordable housing option at the last town hall meeting on August 11. Residents, including two newly-formed citizens groups, will attend a second town hall on Monday, August 25, to learn whether this new option is feasible. Or, will there be other achievable options to replace an unpopular key component of the current township plan — a high-density housing development at the former Kenvue (J&J) corporate site.
Shellie Jacobson of Skillman, a member of Save Montgomery, spoke during the standing-room only crowd at the August 11 town hall.
(Photo by Barbara A. Preston)
Montgomery Township has 324 affordable units allowed to convert to market-priced units under state law. The township is trying to strike deals with the owners to extend the affordability controls. These include: 210 units at Pike Run, 95 units at McKinley Commons, and 19 units at Montgomery Walk.
Keeping affordable units affordable is a state-wide issue. State law/policy required a 30-year deed restriction on low cost units – instead of making them affordable indefinitely.
In Montgomery’s case, the NJ Round 4 Affordable Housing Mandate now requires the township to build/provide 260 more affordable units between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2035.
Do the math: 324 affordable units become un-affordable while the township must provide 260 more affordable units. How does this make sense?
Montgomery Township has 324 affordable units that may convert to market-priced units as allowed by state mandate. The township is working to strike deals with the owners to extend the affordability controls on these units.
Montgomery Township Committee and the planning board each approved an 800-page plan in June to provide 260 units or credits of state-mandated housing. A controversial part of the plan calls for 417 units to be built on the Kenvue (J&J) site on Grandview Road in the Sourlands conservation area. This would include 70 affordable family rental units constructed on the Kenvue site, plus 54 affordable deed restrictions on existing rowhomes in other parts of the township.
Two community groups are gearing up to legally challenge the local plan, with one group — Save Montgomery — raising more than $45,000 in 24 hours.
The second group — Montgomery Neighbors United — had raised $9,146 as of August 22. Visit their respective websites to learn more. (montgomeryneighborsunited.org and savemontgomery.org.)
Mayor Neena Singh says a new option is being developed in response to public feedback — including the extension of expiring deed restrictions on existing affordable units. The township could reduce the total number of new units that would need to be constructed by renewing the affordability controls on its existing 324 income-restricted units throughout town.
The state had granted density bonuses to developers, allowing them to build at least four market units for each affordable unit in their plans. The state only required those low-cost units to be affordable for 30 years, and they are now ending that term and all revert to market units.
The developer/owner may agree to extend the deed restrictions for another 30 years, at a cost of about $17,000 per deed. The township would have to come up with the money, or make a deal, to repurchase those.
The newest option includes building a luxury apartment complex in Belle Mead by Route 206 and the freight train tracks on the Hillsborough border.
In exchange for this, Atlantic Realty (the potential developer) would sell deed restrictions at its Pike Run development.
If an agreement cannot be reached, those 210 deed restrictions will expire in 2028 and the units will revert to market price.
This is significant because if the township can re-up the deed restrictions, the township would not have to permit an unpopular high-density housing development at the Kenuve (J&J) site, located at the foot of the Sourlands on Grandview Road in Skillman.
The freight train tracks in Belle Mead. A luxury apartment complex could be built on the right side of the tracks as part of the township's Round 4 Affordable Housing plan. At one time, a commuter train service to New York City with stops in Belle Mead used these quaint, historic buildings. The tracks were ripped up, leaving only the freight train tracks.
(Photo by Barbara A. Preston)
The “Transit Commercial Site” (home to two historic railroad stations from when Belle Mead had a commuter passenger service to New York City) is now zoned for a commercial building, such as a coffee shop, and about 150 parking spaces for a park-and-ride with either bus or train service to New York City.
A new concept plan submitted by Atlantic Realty (owner of Pike Run) calls for 149 luxury apartments, keeping 150 park-and-ride spaces, but nixes the coffee shop, according to Planner/Township Administrator Lori Savron.
“One of the things we’ve been working on [for the site] is a Coach bus service, which right now starts in Hillsborough [and goes to New York City],” Savron said. She added that New Jersey Transit has been trying to re-activate the commuter rail line with a stop in Belle Mead, using the old historic railroad buildings on the north and south sides of the tracks. The historic buildings would remain if housing is to be built on the “Transit Commercial Site.”
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While Kenvue remains in the plan for now, the mayor had announced at the first town hall meeting that she expected major changes to the plan.
As of August 21, the township was still in negotiations, trying to solidify this plan. This is expected to be a big topic at the August 25 town hall. ■
