Anger Erupts After Approval Of Massive Mercer Co. Warehouse Project

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The West Windsor Planning Board on Wednesday approved a massive warehouse project, despite strong opposition from residents and those living in neighboring towns.

The 5.5- million-square-foot development is being planned on the American Cyanamid tract, on the corner of Route 1 and Quaker Bridge Road and within the Planned Commercial Development (PCD) District.

The West Windsor Planning Board approved the application 6-2, with 80 conditions. One of the conditions include not giving out a certificate of occupancy until the roads from Quaker Bridger to Route 1 are built.

At the end of the four-hour-long meeting, 15 minutes were allotted for public comment and residents told the board they were unhappy with the decision.

According to residents, the development will cause traffic nightmares on Route 1, which would funnel through local neighborhood streets, affecting the quality of life and the environment. They accused the board of failing to protect the long-term interests of residents, despite the strong opposition.

“This land was here long before you showed up and by right should be in livable condition long after you’ve moved away,” a resident said. “You’re going to ruin it for everybody and hightail out of here. And you have absolutely no right.”

One resident told the board members that there was “not enough meat” in the 80 conditions to affectively end the negative impacts. “One of the problems about land is that once it's built on, it’s gone,” the resident said.

Another resident said he was embarrassed to have the six people, who voted in favor of the application, representing the town. "You have subjected West Windsor in perpetuity to this bad decision."

A petition signed by residents of Princeton, Lawrenceville, Hamilton, Plainsboro and other towns has called for West Windsor to scrap the project. According to the petition, signed by over 2,500 residents, the project is being built on flood-prone wetlands and is bound to increase truck traffic in the area.

“Separate from flooding, due to the over-paving of our state, and the toxic emissions from ever-idling trucks, there are so many more reasons why this is a terrible idea, but the most impactful is taking the entire area, beyond Mercer, and putting it regularly at a standstill so commuting becomes more horrific, toxic & deadly than it already is, while quality of life further degrades,” the petition said.

The project, called Bridge point 8 Industrial Park, will include seven warehouse buildings and is expected to be completed in two phases. Phase I involves developing three warehouse buildings of 3 million square feet and the construction of a new road from the intersection of Quakerbridge Road and Avalon Way through the intersection of Route 1 and Nassau Park Boulevard.

In Phase II of the project, four warehouses measuring 2 million square feet will be built.

During Monday’s meeting, Princeton Council took note of the proposed development, with Mayor Mark Freda saying the township was monitoring the situation.

Freda presented a few statistics about the project and said it would add 1550 new trips per day to the development. “When the other retail offices etc. are built, there will be an additional 1800 new trips per day. Something this size is going to take years and years to build,” Freda said.

The Mayor said he had hoped to voice Princeton’s concerns over the project during Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting in West Windsor, but the township decided there would be no further public comment.

Councilwoman Mia Sacks said Princeton residents should learn more about the project because “the potential implications to Princeton, particularly in terms of truck traffic could be really impactful.”

The application will now go before the council and then to Mercer County officials. To watch Wednesday's planning board meeting, click here.

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