Scaled-back senior housing plan OK'd Kaplan Cos. plan includes 184 units in four buildings BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Kaplan Cos. has the green light to move forward with a 184-unit age-restricted community at Towne Lake in Sayreville. The borough Planning Board approved the Highland Parkbased developer's revised site plan, which was scaled down from a previous version that included 200 units. The board approved the earlier version in 2005. Kaplan changed the senior project to include 184 two-bedroom units due to market conditions and extra costs that the developer said would make the previously approved plan impractical in the current marketplace. Michael Kaplan, former president of the company, told Greater Media Newspapers that the "key change" in the revised plan is to have four buildings, rather than three. "Now, we have a different style of building to bring down the cost," he said. The development will be called Heritage at Towne Lake and will be located amid the other Towne Lake communities near Main Street and Washington Road. William T. Wentzien, the engineer for the project, told the board that the buildings will remain age restricted and will include common recreational space and a clubhouse with a pool in the central portion of the site. Kaplan told the board that only a few years ago he could have given an easier answer as to how long construction will take, but based on changes in the housing market, the earliest that the project will be built is by the beginning of 2009. Kaplan said the company is not required to build the clubhouse until the final phase, but there will be facilities for residents within each building. Wentzien said the stormwater management system conforms to all state and local regulations, since it contains and collects the stormwater and evenly spreads it out to two existing lakes that surround the site to the south and the east. Parking will be evenly dispersed within the four buildings, Wentzien said. The site will have a total of 368 parking spaces with additional surface parking for visitors, but only if the 45 so-called "bank spaces" that are interspersed throughout site are included. Wentzien added that the "bank spaces" are no longer needed. "We strongly feel we will not need those," Wentzien said. The ratio of parking spaces to units is 1.75 spaces per unit without the bank spaces, which Wentzien said is more than adequate for the site. The developer will provide adequate space for trucks and emergency vehicles to turn around and maneuver large vehicles through the property, Wentzien said. He added that there will be emergency access on all four sides of the buildings. Board member Frank Bella said that Kaplan should meet the requirement of providing two parking spaces per unit, so that accommodations can be made for visitors. Borough Engineer Jay Cornell said that without the "bank spaces," the site would only have approximately 322 spaces. With the "bank spaces," the site would meet the ordinance requirement, he added. Kaplan said that while he still thinks the number of spaces he proposed would be adequate, he will provide two spaces per unit in light of the board's desire to see more parking provided. David J. Minno, the architect and planner for the project, described it as a luxury active adult project. He added that individual garages, as opposed to the developer's original idea for a parking deck, will make the housing appeal more to luxury buyers, with an average age of 68 years old. The spouse of a senior citizen who lives there can be under 55 years old. The buildings, including the garages, will have sprinkler systems, Minno said. He added that another safety feature will be the stairwells, which will have areas of refuge with enough room for residents at the top of the stairwells to wait for firefighters to rescue them. In response to a question from the board, Kaplan representatives said that dynamic compaction will not be necessary with this project. Dynamic compaction has been a concern for residents near the Patriot Hill and Towne Lake construction sites in the past, since they have contended that the vibrations caused damage to properties near the construction site. The board voted unanimously in favor of the revised proposal. Board Vice Chairman Thomas Tighe described it as "a beautiful plan." "Mr. Kaplan, you and your team again have really enhanced Sayreville," Tighe said. "Again, I think it's a great project."