Woolwich clears plan for 1,000-plus houses. What is Kings Meadow and when will it open?

Joseph P. Smith, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·4 min read
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WOOLWICH TWP. — This township of fewer than 4,000 households may see another thousand-plus added over the coming decade if the Kings Meadow project local planning officials just approved lives up to its promises.

Kings Meadow checks off several key, long-range planning boxes: Creation of a regional residential center; adding a sizable age-restricted community; and chipping in to help a legal obligation to make “affordable housing” available as well as market-rate housing.

Township government has worked closely with the principals behind Kings Meadow, especially in the last year. But final approval for the project only came after marathon testimony and questioning before the Joint Land Use Board Aug. 17.

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The board broke its own 11 p.m. hearing cutoff rule to keep taking testimony until early Friday morning, including from residents not happy about potential impacts on traffic, the environment, and school taxes.

However, members voted 8-to-1 to approve the final design with a series of conditions mostly focused on keeping communications open with the developer and indirectly with county and state authorities.

About 60 Woolwich Township residents came out for a public hearing Thursday night at Kingsway Middle School on the proposed Kings Meadow residential development, 1,065 houses comprising market rate, age-restricted, and affordable rate housing types. The site is 243 acres of farmland off Kings Highway and Asbury Station Road and in walking distance of the regional schools complex. The Joint Land Use Board hearing ran for six hours, with members finally voting 8-to-1 Friday morning to approve the site plan and subdivision plans. PHOTO: August 17, 2023.

When will Kings Meadow be built?

The board also agreed that its approval stays valid for 20 years. That is insurance against the multi-phase development taking longer than expected to complete.

The project calls for a total of 1,065 residential units — varieties of single-family house and townhomes. It will have 368 units available only to senior citizens. There also will be 90 “affordable” units.

NVR Inc., operating as Ryan Homes, will build the community on about 243 acres off Kings Highway and on either side of Asbury Station Road. The company is buying the land from Woolwich Residential LLC. The land previously was part of the Casella family farm operation.

These are models of houses and townhomes builder NVR Inc. (Ryan Homes) submitted Thursday night, August 17, 2023 at a Woolwich Township Joint Land Use Board hearing on the Kings Meadow residential center project off Kings Highway and Asbury Station Road. The board approved the project, which could start its phase one work as early as summer 2004.
These are models of houses and townhomes builder NVR Inc. (Ryan Homes) submitted Thursday night, August 17, 2023 at a Woolwich Township Joint Land Use Board hearing on the Kings Meadow residential center project off Kings Highway and Asbury Station Road. The board approved the project, which could start its phase one work as early as summer 2004.

NVR Vice President Stephen Gallo touted the company’s past and current work in Woolwich, including at the Weatherby residential development. The company has done projects here since 2004.

“So, that experience and our long history here has shaped our vision for this project, and it’s part of how we are approaching the project,” Gallo told the board. Later, Gallo said an “optimistic” scenario would see construction start in summer 2024.

Gallo said Kings Meadow really is “two communities within one large community.” The two parts are on opposite sides, roughly east and west, of Asbury Station Road. That road cuts through roughly the center of Kings Meadow before linking with Kings Highway.

An aerial site map of the 243 acres where the Kings Meadow residential center project will be built in Woolwich Township likely starting in late 2024. Asbury Station Road bisects the development into distinct East and West communities. The map was an exhibit at ae Thursday, August 17, 2023 local Joint Land Use Board hearing.
An aerial site map of the 243 acres where the Kings Meadow residential center project will be built in Woolwich Township likely starting in late 2024. Asbury Station Road bisects the development into distinct East and West communities. The map was an exhibit at ae Thursday, August 17, 2023 local Joint Land Use Board hearing.

Some points about the project design include the following.

  • The community east of Asbury Station Road is where the age-restricted housing will be built, a mix of 172 single family houses and 196 attached villas. NVR refers to it as the Legacy at Kings Meadow.

  • The community west of Asbury Station Road is Kings Meadow, proper, Gallo said. It will have no senior housing, but all the 90 planned affordable housing units and 607 houses for sale at market rate prices.

  • Each section will have its dedicated community center with features like pools, pickleball courts, and an amphitheater.

  • The township is being deeded 12 acres to use as Open Space recreation, but that’s not the only Open Space acreage. The entire community has 73 acres of usable open space.

  • Five phases of construction are planned. The first phase will see work on both sections. The second through fifth phases are intended to take place over eight years.

  • All the affordable housing is slated for construction in the first two phases.

  • A mile-long walking trail is planned for the Kings Meadow side. The developer is offering to extend it to the nearby Kingsway Middle School.

  • Woolwich is to be paid a $300,000 Open Space fee and $682,500 as an affordable housing fund contribution.

Will Kings Meadow create more traffic?

Conceptually, project traffic engineer Mark Roth, said Kings Highway and Asbury Station Road will undergo widening to accommodate enlarged and safer shoulders and center turning lanes.

Roth said intersections at Pancoast Road and Kings Highway and at Asbury Station Road and Kings Highway will get traffic signal systems installed once their traffic volumes meet thresholds set by Gloucester County.

The Woolwich Township Joint Land Use Board held a six-hour meeting starting Thursday night on the Kings Meadow residential project, which will build 1,065 houses of different types off Kings Highway and Asbury Station Road. The board approved the project's subdivision and site plan proposals on an 8-to-1 vote. The project was crafted with township input, including addressing a need for affordable housing. The hearing was held at Kingsway Middle School to accommodate an expected crowd. Left-right: Members Jon Fein, Joseph Morgan III, Mayor Craig Frederick; Chairman Joe Maugeri; Solicitor Mike Aimino; and member John Juliano. PHOTO: August 17, 2023.

“But what we’d like to point out, based on our studies, … a traffic signal will not be warranted at the Pancoast Road and Kings Highway intersection until about 50 percent of the homes are built at this location,” Roth said.

“Likewise, we’re using the same analysis, if you look at the intersection of Kings Highway and Asbury Station, those warrants will not be met until approximately 75 percent of the homes are built at that location,” Roth said.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 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. Support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Woolwich approves 1,000-home Kings Meadow project