More townhomes dropping on Glassboro

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

GLASSBORO — A wooded area off Martin Luther King Drive and Higgins Drive is the next construction site for housing developer D.R. Horton, which already has four communities around the borough.

Its next project is a townhome neighborhood with 74 units, contained in 14 buildings. The buildings will go up on about 14.67 acres on Higgins Drive across from the Whitney Crescent affordable housing complex.

The proposal that borough planners approved at an April 2 hearing includes creating a dozen parking spaces on a separate lot to be dedicated for Elsmere Park. The park is just south of the site on Higgins Drive.

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Project attorney Stuart Platt told the Planning Board the townhomes will be built in one phase. The buildings will be three stories tall, with three bedrooms, decks and patios. Each townhome will have a one-vehicle garage, and 42 other parking spaces will be scattered around the site.

Horton is buying the site from a New York City-based company, Take 2 Holdings LLC. That company owes the borough more than $1.2 million in property taxes. The debt must be settled as part of the sale of the land, according to testimony the board heard.

A proposed 74-townhome community off Martin Luther King Drive at Higgins Drive got its Glassboro Planning Board approval Tuesday night. Engineer Walter Hopkin stands to take questions on the D.R. Horton Inc. project. PHOTO: April 2, 2024.
A proposed 74-townhome community off Martin Luther King Drive at Higgins Drive got its Glassboro Planning Board approval Tuesday night. Engineer Walter Hopkin stands to take questions on the D.R. Horton Inc. project. PHOTO: April 2, 2024.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection still needs to weigh in on the development because of the presence of some wetlands. Horton has asked the DEP to determine the extent of the wetlands and buffer area, project engineer Walter Hopkin testified.

Elsmere Park at 275 Higgins Drive in Glassboro gets a dozen more parking spaces as part of a townhome community D.R. Horton Inc. will develop next to it. Borough planners on April 2 approved the plan. PHOTO: April 4, 2024.
Elsmere Park at 275 Higgins Drive in Glassboro gets a dozen more parking spaces as part of a townhome community D.R. Horton Inc. will develop next to it. Borough planners on April 2 approved the plan. PHOTO: April 4, 2024.

The borough has the area zoned for residential use. The allowable housing density is six buildings per acre, and the Horton project falls under that limit. A homeowners association will manage two dedicated open space lots.

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: Glassboro continues housing approval trend