LINWOOD — A 23-unit age-targeted townhouse complex is under construction on the northwest side of Route 9 in Linwood.
The long-vacant site is between two medical office buildings, across from the end of Seaview Avenue, and until very recently lacked curbs and sidewalks.
Two years ago, when the city amended a redevelopment agreement for the site to allow for residential development, Council President Eric Ford called it “truly one of the only underutilized properties in the city.”
Scarborough Properties, which owns the site and the redevelopment agency Developer Charter Tech Annex LLC, previously had approvals for two office buildings and was prepared to move forward in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Ford said.
That led to a collapse in the commercial real estate market, making the proposal untenable. Ford said Scarborough Properties had went as far as acquiring building permits and connecting water and sewer to the site before realizing the office market was “absolutely gone.”
On July 17, 2023, the Linwood Land Use Board approved an application to subdivide two adjoining properties of nearly 7 acres into 24 lots. One will be left as open space for stormwater management.
“It’s actually exciting to see the work going on,” Ford said. “The site has been vacant for so long, and on two other occasions somebody was ready to start something and it didn’t happen for whatever reason. To see the site work starting, it’s only a matter of time until something is built.”
The proposal calls for a gated community of nearly two dozen townhomes with first-floor master suites and other amenities geared toward an older demographic. However, no age restriction is required.
“We gave them the flexibility of carving out each building. They can make them age-restricted and there would be tax benefits for that building, but they don’t have to,” Ford said.
There will be five buildings and each of the units will have a two-car garage. There also will be a public access trail and observation deck overlooking Patcong Creek as part of the project.
– STORY and PHOTO by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
