Carol Comegno
PEMBERTON TWP. - A developer has proposed building hundreds of homes where Rowan College of Burlington County once had its main campus.
In a recent presentation to Pemberton Township Council officials with Fieldstone Associates of Bridgewater informally unveiled a concept plan for 452 homes to include apartments, townhomes and single-family homes.
Rowan College of Burlington County started moving its main campus from Pemberton to its satellite campus on Route 38 in Mount Laurel more than six years ago to be closer to the county's population center.
The township had chosen Fieldstone as the conditional redeveloper for the vacant college property. The township had designated the college-owned property as a redevelopment zone several years ago.
However, Fieldstone has submitted no formal application to the township planning board, according to township officials, and no agreement of sale has been reached between the college and Fieldstone.
"Rowan College at Burlington County's goal remains the same — identifying a new use for the Pemberton Campus that will provide a benefit to the local communities while allowing us to focus on our mission of providing high-quality, affordable education," RCBC President Michael Cioce said in a statement Friday.
"We continue to work with the township and potential developers to ensure that we fully vet stakeholders' concerns."
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Cioce offered no specific comment on the Fieldstone proposal.
However, Pemberton Township Administrator Daniel Hornickel said the two sides are making progress in reaching an agreement.
"They (Fieldstone) have been in negotiation with the college and are close to reaching a letter of intent to buy the property," Hornickel said.
The former campus, now pock-marked by overgrown weeds and vegetation, downed trees and broken windows in some buildings, occupies 225 acres bordered by Pemberton-Browns Mills Road, Four Mile Road, Rancocas Creek and the Pemberton Bypass to and from Route 38.
Any campus development is also subject to review by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission because the land is within the regional growth area of the Pinelands master plan.
The Fieldstone plan calls for less than 60 acres to be developed. Much of the property is wetlands and unbuildable.
Hornickel said the municipality is in need of a variety of housing types to retain and attract residents because its population has slipped over the past 30 years from 33,000 in 1990 to 27,000 as of the last U.S. Census.
"We are revitalizing our commercial district in Browns Mills, so new residents would help downtown business," the administrator added.
Fieldstone also is proposing to build several amenities for housing occupants that would include a clubhouse, a pool and pocket parks.
"They (Fieldstone) have been in negotiation with the college and are close to reaching a letter of intent to buy the property," Hornickel said.
When the college sought formal development proposals for the former campus in 2019, only one was submitted and was later rejected by the college board of trustees in 2019 for "various critical omissions." At that time the development criteria adopted by the trustees required public benefit, a limited impact on public services and the experience and financial capability of a developer to execute the project.
Rancocas Institute LLC, a nonprofit group headed by physician Dr. Mark Thomas, had proposed a Pinelands welcome center and a wellness center with health, recreation, conservation and agricultural programs. The group’s plan also called for the campus gym and indoor swimming pool to remain operational and open to the public.
Art Corsini, a principal in Fieldstone Associates, declined comment Monday. The firm has developed other housing in Burlington County, including the Marlton Gateway apartments on Main Street and Barclay Chase apartments on Route 70 , both in Evesham, and three housing developments in Eastampton — Eastampton Place, Eastampton Apartments and Sherwood Village.