Evans Way redevelopment

The Evans Way redevelopment area covers Block 58, Lot 36 (about 38.09 acres), Block 58.01, Lot 4 (about 5 acres) and portions of the Evans Way right-of-way, near Old York Road. The Township designated it a non-condemnation redevelopment area in February 2022 (Resolution 2022-60, after Planning Board Resolution 2022-008) and adopted a warehouse redevelopment plan by Ordinance 2022-1424 in March 2022. A May 2022 agreement with property owner S/K Stoney Brook Associates recited three warehouse/distribution buildings totaling approximately 300,300 square feet and a 2.26-acre land donation; the Planning Board approved the warehouse site plan (application 2022-010P—PFSP/PFSUB) in 2023 — June 27, 2023 in the ordinance’s recitals; the Board’s October 28, 2025 minutes refer to the resolution “approved by the Planning Board on July 27, 2023.”

On October 28, 2025 the Planning Board approved an amendment phasing that approval (Resolution PB 2025-022, 5–0, adopted the same night): the approved 30,000-square-foot building on Block 58.01, Lot 4 — 5,000 square feet of office and 25,000 of warehouse, with six loading bays and 35 parking spaces — becomes phase one, with no change to the 2023 plan. The applicant’s attorney, Glenn S. Pantel, said the lot was under contract to be sold, that construction would start the next year and that the applicant remained committed to the housing on the rest of the site; Township Engineer Douglas Ball said Block 58, Lot 36 is still part of the Fourth Round plan, and Board Planner Kendra Lelie said that part will need site-plan approval and a zoning change.

In March 2026 the Township replaced that plan with housing on the larger lot. Ordinance 2026-1508, introduced February 9 with all five members in favor, found not inconsistent with the Master Plan by the Planning Board on February 10 (Resolution PB 2026-011, 7–0) and adopted March 9, 2026, 5–0 with no public comment, adopts an amended Evans Way Redevelopment Plan allowing up to 300 apartments and 100 townhouses on Block 58, Lot 36, with a 20% affordability set-aside in each type (60 apartments and 20 townhouses, 80 affordable units in all). Block 58.01, Lot 4 remains under its prior designation, and the plan’s introduction contemplates future public use of a two-acre portion along Stony Brook Road. The amended plan implements the Evans Way/KRE mechanism in the Township’s Fourth Round affordable-housing plan: a 400-family-unit inclusionary project with 80 affordable units at about 10.5 dwelling units per acre.

At the February 10 review, Ms. Lelie said KRE had asked to be part of the Fourth Round plan and “Branchburg agreed this was a better use of the property,” and that KRE will still need site-plan approval. On March 9 the Committee also approved, 5–0, Resolution 2026-67, an amended redevelopment agreement and affordable housing agreement with S/K Stoney Brook Associates. That night Township Attorney William Willard said that once the remaining agreements are executed the developers can bring their applications to the Planning Board or Zoning Board, and Derek Orth, counsel for KRE Developers, said construction can begin once all items are finalized and State approvals granted, and would take about 24 to 36 months from breaking ground. The April 15, 2026 Consent Order in docket SOM-L-142-25 lists the Evans Way/KRE 80 units as proposed.

What residents can do. Check the Planning Board’s notices and agendas for an Evans Way site-plan item; any hearing is public, and residents may attend and speak. The Board meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building courtroom. Corrections to this page can be emailed to info@localwhy.org.