Home Care In Crosswicks, NJ

A wide swath of rolling hills and rich farmland in three counties, including 106 acres in Hamilton, will will be permanently preserved after the state finalized a $28 million purchase yesterday from a family that cultivated the land for generations.

The land runs in large part along Crosswicks Creek and stretches across 1,900 acres in Mercer, Monmouth and Burlington counties, the Department of Environmental Protection said. It will be used for open space, farms and wildlife refuges.

“This has been a long time in the works, and this is a wonderful opportunity for the central part of New Jersey,” DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said. “It’s beautiful property, surrounded by rolling countryside, and we’re going to preserve some spectacular scenery.”

The terrain covers nearly three square miles, including the largest portion in Upper Freehold and the rest in Hamilton and North Hanover. It was previously part of Princeton Nurseries, once one of the largest commercial plant nurseries in the country.

Founded by the Flemer family in 1913, the company moved to Allentown in the 1980s and its former properties were gradually developed, sold to Princeton University and other buyers or targeted for preservation.

“Future generations of farmers and nature lovers will together enjoy these beautiful lands that have meant so much to the William Flemer and John Flemer families,” the family said in a DEP news release. “We are grateful to the people of the state of New Jersey for their support of the preservation of precious open space and irreplaceable farmland in our state.”

Covering an area where the three counties meet, the purchase will help connect thousands of acres of existing county park lands and greenways along the creek, the DEP said. It includes grasslands, mature forests and forested wetland, and recreational activities such as hiking, horseback riding, fishing, hunting and bicycle riding will be available throughout.

More than 1,000 acres will be preserved as open space, including a 512-acre state wildlife management area, which will be overseen by the DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. An additional 847 acres will be permanently available for agricultural uses thanks to the acquisition of development rights on the land, the agency said.

“Everyone always kind of had their eye on this property for preservation, but not until (the Flemer family members) were ready did we pursue anything,” said Renee Jones, a spokeswoman for the DEP’s Green Acres program. “We had many, many, many meetings about how to divide out the property, about what the owners wanted to keep as farmland versus what they wanted as open space.”

Funding came from several sources, including Green Acres Program, the State Agriculture Development Committee and Burlington and Monmouth counties. Mercer County contributed $1.6 million, according to the law firm Drinker Biddle, whose Princeton office represented the Flemer family in the deal.

HAMILTON, NJ -- The National Weather Service of Philadelphia - Mount Holly (NWS) confirmed Tuesday evening that an EF-1 tornado traveled through Hamilton Township in the evening of Saturday, April 1.

According to a statement released by NWS, a tornado formed after a "straight line wind event" after heading toward Bordentown along Ward Avenue. The tornado developed in Crosswicks around 7:08 p.m.

The tornado crossed into Hamilton Township, according to the NWS, in a wooded area along Crosswicks Creek then emerged along a tree line near the back of the Hamilton Area YMCA Samwill location. It then spun east toward the intersection of Sawmill Road and Iron Bridge Road priot to moving toward Extonville Road before dissipating.

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The NWS says much of the damage from the tornado was uprooted or snapped trees.

The twister stopped spinning in Upper Freehold around 7:11 p.m.

At it's peak, the EF-1 tornado, which was 300 yards wide and traveled 2.8 miles, hit a peak wind of 100 mph.

The tornado, considered as touching down in Crosswicks, NJ, is one of 10 in the April 1 Tornado Outbreak for which the NWS have completed damage surveys.

Another tornado touched down just one town over in Allentown and traveled through Cream Ridge.

Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin said on Facebook Tuesday night that he has been in touch with the state authorities to determine if FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) "will declare it as an emergency area so that residents that sustained damage as a result of the tornado may obtain assistance. We will continue to update the community as more information is provided to us."

Winds associated with the Saturday night storms, traveled along Sawmill Road in Hamilton Township where the Miracle League of Mercer County saw significant damage to their fields. As a result, the Spring 2023 season has been postponed.

At the end of February another tornado touched down in Mercer County along Quakerbridge Road.

HAMILTON — Looking toward a time when cemetery space is likely to be in short supply, the Diocese of Trenton is seeking approval to eventually turn acres of farmland in the Crosswicks section of the township into a final resting place for local Catholics.

Rayanne Bennett, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said there’s no rush or shortage of burial plots for parishioners.

“This is not borne out of an urgent need ... it’s a determination that some time in the future, maybe in a decade or more, additional cemetery space will be required,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Despite the inevitable need for burial space, any cemetery additions or expansions will require the blessing of the local municipality under state law.

Enter the Hamilton Township Council.

On Monday, council considered such a request for the first time.

Under the cemetery statute, towns must also waive a rule that no more than five cemeteries exist within a given municipality.

It’s unclear exactly how many cemeteries exist in Hamilton, but in a 40-square-mile town with a population approaching 90,000, five cemeteries isn’t going to cut it.

Bill Dressel, executive director of the State League of Municipalities, said municipal oversight over cemeteries can be an important issue in this congested and densely populated state. Cemeteries typically provide little tax revenue for towns, and some municipalities may be interested in using available land for affordable housing, recreation or open space instead of burial plots.

“We all recognize the fact that at some point all of us are going to die so we have to make room, but while we’re all still alive there are some other competing issues mayors and governing bodies have to deal with,” Dressel said.

In Hamilton, the situation is not as dire as in North Jersey, where, Dressel said, high-rise mausoleums have been suggested as a solution for overcrowding.

The potential cemetery is proposed for a piece of diocese-owned land down the road from the nondenominational North Crosswicks Cemetery and the intersection of Crosswicks-Hamilton Square Road and South Broad Street. It wouldn’t serve any parish in particular, but would be reserved for general diocesan use.

David W. Horsnall, secretary/treasurer for the Crosswicks Cemetery Association, said any new additions to the cemetery scene would be welcome. There are still plenty of plots available in the Crosswicks cemetery and not a lot of worries about the diocese stealing customers.

“I don’t know that you’d call this a competitive business from our point of view,” he said. “This is a nice location and we certainly have no objection from our point of view.”

But on Monday, some council members did have objections, and council withheld approval for the future project until it has a chance to work its way through the local zoning or planning board.

Councilman Kevin Meara wondered whether a new cemetery would spoil the rural, historic feel of the Crosswicks area.

“North Crosswicks is one of the most historical areas we have and one of the least-changed hamlets in the state of New Jersey as far as development,” Meara said. “This cemetery would basically wrap around those Victorian houses that are sitting there on the corner of that intersection. I think that would certainly have an effect on the values of those homes and just the historical makeup of North Crosswicks.”

Township business administrator John Ricci said the diocese wanted to test the waters with council before continuing with the zoning approval process. If council didn’t seem supportive of the idea, the diocese may not want to proceed with the sometimes lengthy and costly land use approvals that would be required.

Councilman Dave Kenny said a cemetery is preferable to other types of development. And since the land is already owned by the tax-exempt diocese, it’s not as if the township can wring more tax money out of it.

“It protects the hamlet to have cemeteries there to prevent it from more intense development, like McMansions, that would certainly be out of character there,” Kenny said.

The diocese has yet to file any zoning documents, and seems in no hurry to secure the necessary approvals.

“The prudent course was to get approvals now so that they are in hand for when the need becomes more defined,” said Bennett, the diocese spokeswoman. “The ‘when’ isn’t known at this time; it has yet to be determined. We are only seeking approval for the use at this time; there is nothing in the plans beyond approvals right now.”

Contact Erin Duffy at [email protected] or (609) 989-5723.

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CHESTERFIELD — For more than 300 years, the trim, clapboard Crosswicks Inn had been a tavern, a Prohibition-era speakeasy and a restaurant.

Then one day in 1997, the last iteration, the Upper Crust Pub, closed its doors. Local resident Tom Leyden felt a sudden hole in the village.

“They closed the place down overnight. We all kind of freaked out,” Leyden said. “This was a community watering hole for us.”

He and other members of the community watched helplessly as the old wooden structure began to succumb to time and weather.

Today, though, the building has a new life, following a $1 million restoration. A new business, an Italian restaurant, has taken root there, along with a genuine Old World pizza oven from Modena, Italy.

“The building sat idle for five years before we decided to buy it and restore it back to its old brilliance,” Leyden said.

He and three partners — Karl Braun, Kathy Heptinstall and Greg Romano — purchased the inn for about $280,000 in 2005 and undertook the massive renovation project, restoring the building as place to eat, drink and socialize.

From the outside, the Crosswicks Inn immediately resembles faded old pictures taken of the building in the 1850s, with rows of windows overlooking Crosswicks-Chesterfield Road and Main Street.

But the makeover didn't happen overnight, Leyden said. The entire renovation took years, including repairing significant structural damage and re-siding the whole building. "It was in really bad shape," Romano said. Pointing to one side of the structure, he said, "That wall was ready to fall into Main Street."

Had the building suffered any further decay, something irreplaceable would have been lost, he said.

“It really is significant from a historical perspective, and the place was basically ready to fall down.”

The building opened as a tavern in 1681, a respite for travelers headed between New York and Philadelphia, but lost its liquor license in 1689 when owner John Bainbridge sold alcohol to neighboring Lenape Indians, Braun said.

The building saw new life in the 1700s, when Thomas Douglas took over management of the building and renamed it the “Douglas Tavern,” as it would remain throughout the Revolutionary War and 1800s, Braun said.

Legend has it that the owner of the Douglas Tavern sent a bill to King George III for damages caused by Hessian soldiers.

“We really liked the history and tradition here. It’s an important building, and we want it to continue,” Braun said.

Last month, after a 17-year hiatus, the inn opened to the public as a restaurant, welcoming customers into the third location of Osteria Procaccini, an artisanal pizzeria that serves “pizza the way it’s eaten in Italy.”

“The building is very conducive to our concept because, in Italy, a lot of these osterias are in taverns that look just like this. That’s something we could have here,” Procaccini said.

And in the rear yard of the property is a fully functioning vegetable garden, where Osteria staff picks vegetables and then works them into the day’s menu.

“We wanted to think about the way our ancestors made food, from the garden in the back,” Osteria Procaccini owner John Proccacini said. “You pick it and bring it to the table. That’s how we were brought up and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

But even with all completely modernized restaurant — and three apartments above it — the partners made sure to keep the historical nature of the building in the spotlight.

The entire building was re-sided with “beam siding” of the time, and copper pipes and gutters are easily visible from the street and in the backyard of the Crosswicks Inn.

And around the building and homes nearby, which the neighbors purchased and renovated, people walk around on brick sidewalks that emphasize the village’s historical flair.

“It was a labor of love, but we wanted to see this building restored to its old purpose. There’s not much here in the Crosswicks village, just 100 little historic homes,” Leyden said. “We wanted the inn to fit in with the historical village. That’s why we moved here.”

Contact Mike Davis at (609) 989-5708 or [email protected].

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Bordentown Township officials and leadership from developer Larken Associates celebrated the ribbon cutting on Saturday for The Reserve at Crosswicks, a 272-unit luxury community. Photo Credit: Larken Associates

By TAPinto Bordentown Staff

BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP, NJ — A new, luxury multifamily community development in Bordentown Township celebrated its official ribbon cutting on Saturday.

Bordentown Township officials and leadership from Larken Associates were in attendance at a ceremony for The Reserve at Crosswicks, a new, 272-luxury multifamily community located at 8000 Bowery Lane.

Developed by Larken Associates, The Reserve at Crosswicks is made up of three four-story buildings with elevators consisting of one and two-bedroom apartments, four three-story garden apartment buildings comprised of one and two-bedroom residences and a community clubhouse.

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"The Committee and I are very proud and excited to welcome the Larken Associates’ newest development, The Reserve at Crosswicks, to Bordentown Township," said Mayor Stephen Benowitz. "The opening of this community is the culmination of a lot of hard work and cooperation between the developer and the Township. This is a first-class residential development that will serve our community well for years to come."

"Most importantly, this inclusionary development will provide much-needed affordable housing to 40 new families, which is something the Committee and I are extremely pleased about," Benowitz continued. "On behalf of the Township Committee and our entire Township, I want to congratulate David Gardner and Larken Associates on this project and welcome you to Bordentown Township, the Crossroads of the Heart of New Jersey."

According to Larken Associates, The Reserve is "designed to provide residents with an unmatched luxury living experience." Each residence features a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and quartz counters, in-unit laundry, luxury vinyl plank flooring and bathrooms with quartz countertops. The development also includes nine buildings with private garages around the perimeter of the community.

The Reserve's clubhouse features Wi-Fi-enabled community workstations, a game room, a lounge, a pet salon, a fully-equipped fitness center and a secure mailroom with package concierge. The community's outdoor amenities include a tot lot, a bark park and an outdoor heated pool and spa.

Those who are interested in living at The Reserve will have to act fast. A representative for Larken Associates told TAPinto Bordentown that the community is 99% leased, with only four units currently available.

"Ribbon cuttings are always a special occasion to us because it provides a rare opportunity to celebrate the consistent effort of so many on our team and the close collaboration with our partners that made this community possible," said David Gardner, President and CEO of Larken Associates. "We would like to thank Bordentown Township and all of those who had a role in this development for their dedication, cooperation and creativity in bringing our vision to life and we look forward to continuing to welcome residents to our brand-new community."

For more information about The Reserve at Crosswicks, including virtual tours, amenities and site plans, CLICK HERE.