Are tether ball, benches and a gazebo enough to satisfy Glassboro's recreation demand?

Joseph P. Smith, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·2 min read

GLASSBORO — A $120,000 tug-of-war over how much recreational area is enough is the last major hurdle for a company proposing a 42-unit apartment complex on South Delsea Drive.

The Zoning Board approved the PVA Investments LLC project at its April 20 meeting. The approval comes with a condition, though: Board staff needs to confirm the project meets a minimum recreational space requirement.

One alternative if it does not would be paying a per-apartment fee as compensation, which board Solicitor John Alice tallies at $120,000 in total.

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PVA Investments insists its design does — or with some juggling — will meet local regulations. It also emphatically does not want to turn over $120,000, project attorney Robert DeSanto said.

“And I realize there’s a lot of advantage (in cash) to a municipality,” DeSanto told members. “But the applicant here, folks, please keep in mind, we have the cost of the application, you have the cost of the professionals, the cost of your professionals, affordable housing. That is a significant number that we are paying to the borough.”

The Glassboro Zoning Board on Thursday, April 20, 2023 conditionally approved an amended site plan for a 42-unit apartment project for 149-151 S. Delsea Drive and approved a use variance and site plan for a South Jersey Gas solar field at 103 Union Street. A use variance hearing for Independent Freight at 20 Warrick Avenue was postponed until May 18.

A borough ordinance says 7.5 percent, at minimum, of a property such as PVA Investments needs to be dedicated recreational space. It specifies a payment-in-lieu-of-facilities option, though.

Project planner Larry DiVietro said the ordinance suggests installing “one basketball court and/or one pool or similar facility.” But neither one make sense for the “first-time, young professionals” the developer wants as tenants, he said.

“As well as, there’s other athletic fields and recreation facilities in the vicinity that has those types of athletic complexes,” DiVietro said. “So, in lieu of that, we provided … more of a community area at the rear of the site. With that, we provided a bike rack, several benches, a gazebo, and a tether court for younger children to play on.”

A Chesterfield developer wants to construct two apartment buildings at a property identified as 149-151 South Delsea Drive in Glassboro, seen here as it was after the Zoning Board approved a use variance for PVA Investments LLC in December 2021. Small site plan changes due to a wetlands issue forced a second board hearing on March 16, 2023, at which members approved an amended variance but not a site plan.

The plan approved last week is a slight variation of one approved in January, and then revised to account for unanticipated wetlands area. The property is about 5.17 acres at 149-151 South Delsea Drive. A design complication is how compact the property is for the intended use.

PVA Investments, based in Chesterfield Township, started talking to local officials in 2021. Its concept has stayed consistent: Renovate a four-unit apartment building and construct two larger buildings. Two fewer apartment units are in the final design.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Glassboro, apartment developer split over how to have a good time