The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The October 17 Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on the Levin Properties application to build 200 apartments in Rutgers Plaza has been postponed until 2025.
The township published an online notice, saying that Levin had requested the postponement. There was no reason given.
A note was placed on the meeting’s agenda, saying that the meeting would be held on January 9, 2025, in the Township Council chamber in the Municipal Building.
Levin’s proposal is to raze the former K-Mart building in Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue, as well as some spaces behind it, and build a four-story apartment building that will hold 200 units.
The plan has come under fire from residents who argue that although housing is needed, it should not be placed in a a commercial zone, which is where the plaza sits. Opponents say that if Levin is allowed do break the zoning, developers will want to do the same thing in retail areas along Route 27 and elsewhere.
Levin officials have argued that they tried unsuccessfully to lure more retail chains into the space when K-Mart left, and that housing is the only other option they have.
