Cherry Hill has rezoned an “underutilized” office park to make way for potential housing, but the township says no major developments are on the horizon for the property as of now.
The Cherry Hill Township Council earlier this month approved a special overlay zone for Three Executive Campus, an office park located between Route 70 and Cuthbert Boulevard. Under the zoning change, the office park could be turned into a mixed-use commercial and residential development with up to 195 units, at least 20% of which, or 39 units, would need to be set aside for affordable housing. The ordinance also allows for a “density bonus” that would permit a developer to build up to 320 units (64 of which would need to be affordable) if they were to convert the existing office building into housing, rather than building something new.
The overlay is “intended to create an incentive for the development of at least 39 low- and moderate-income housing units in a suitable location,” the ordinance states.
The 28.2-acre site is currently zoned as regional business (B4), a designation that allows for retail, offices, residential, and recreational uses that support the development of a “regional business zone.” The recently passed overlay zone doesn’t remove the original B4 zoning, but instead presents alternative options for potential developers.
The Three Executive Campus building was originally built in 1974.
Though the zone change creates a path for affordable units near Cherry Hill’s commercial core, the township says there are no major changes on the docket for the office park.
There is “no pending or anticipated development plans for the property at this time,” and any future development would need to go through the regular round of township approvals, Brian Bauerle, chief of staff in the Cherry Hill mayor’s office, said in an email.
Rather, the change moves Cherry Hill toward its goal to reuse older office properties and obligation to provide “realistic zoning” for affordable housing under the New Jersey Fair Housing Act, according to Bauerle.
New Jersey municipalities are required to provide a fair share of low- and middle-income housing for residents under the Mount Laurel doctrine, the result of a 1975 New Jersey Supreme Court case that declared exclusionary zoning unconstitutional. Under the doctrine, towns are required to meet certain affordable housing obligations and create a plan that outlines how they’ll get there.
Cherry Hill is home to a number of affordable housing developments, both rental and owner-occupied, including Evans Francis Estates and Sergi Farms Apartments. Lilly’s Place LP, a new, affordable apartment complex with units for seniors and individuals with disabilities, is currently under construction.
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