WATCHUNG, NJ — A long-planned townhouse development in Watchung is returning to the borough's Board of Adjustment in connection with a third extension of its approval.
The board is scheduled to take up Resolution BA26-09 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Borough Hall, 15 Mountain Boulevard, according to its meeting agenda.
The agenda describes the resolution as a request for a third extension for a development at 1375 Plainfield Avenue. Plans call for 24 townhouses spread among four freestanding buildings, including five affordable housing units.
The applicant, S/K Morris Township Associates LLC, received preliminary and final major site plan approval, along with variance and design relief, in June 2022, according to the board's 2022 annual report. The approval was memorialized the following month.
The project would replace an abandoned office building with 19 market-rate townhouses and five affordable units.
For residents, the latest extension raises a larger question: whether a long-vacant property will finally give way to 24 new homes, including five affordable units, four years after the project was approved.
The board approved an earlier extension in May 2024. During that meeting, the board engineer said the plan needed to be revised because of a conflict involving access to the highway that prevented the applicant from obtaining a permit, according to the meeting minutes.
The current agenda does not explain why a third extension was requested, how much additional time is involved or whether construction has begun. Because the matter is listed as a resolution rather than an application, the agenda also does not make clear whether Thursday's action would grant the extension or memorialize an earlier decision.
The meeting is open to the public.
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