Land use and development

Redevelopment areas and PILOTs

The township designated 600–610 Franklin Boulevard and nearby Lewis Street lots a condemnation redevelopment area for a 120-unit affordable senior building. It adopted a PILOT for The Haven at 260 Davidson Avenue in October 2026, and a 30-year PILOT for the last two Churchill-Millstone phases on Route 27 was on the October 27 agenda.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

Churchill-Millstone PILOT on the agenda; hearing set for November 10 Last moved

What happens next

The October 27, 2026 packet sets a public hearing on Ordinance 4522-26 (Churchill-Millstone PILOT) for November 10, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, if it was introduced on October 27; the minutes of that meeting are not yet posted.

A redevelopment area lets the township adopt a plan for a site that replaces its zoning; a “condemnation” designation also lets the township acquire property there by eminent domain. A PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) exempts a project from property tax in exchange for an annual service charge set in a financial agreement. Franklin’s Council works with a Redevelopment Agency, on which Councilmembers Kimberly Francois and Carl Wright sit.

Franklin Boulevard. In December 2024 the Council voted 8–1 (Wright no) to study 600–610 Franklin Boulevard and 515 and 525 Lewis Street. On October 28, 2025 it designated them a condemnation area in need of redevelopment, 8–0 with Wright abstaining, and on February 10, 2026 it adopted the redevelopment plan (Ordinance 4493-26) for a 120-unit, 100% affordable senior rental, part of the Fourth Round housing plan. The spending plan commits about $3.44 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. No redeveloper has been named in the record read.

The Haven PILOT. Ordinance 4520-26, adopted 9–0 on October 13, 2026, exempts the 142-unit affordable conversion at 260 Davidson Avenue from property tax while it remains under affordability controls, in exchange for a service charge of 4% of annual gross revenue.

Churchill-Millstone. Ordinance 4522-26, listed for first reading on October 27, 2026, would grant Somerset Street Urban Renewal Associates a 30-year PILOT for 37 townhouses and 87 other units, all market-rate, on Route 27 between Churchill Avenue and Millstone Road. The October 27 packet gives the service charge two ways: the ordinance’s summary and recitals say 10% of annual gross revenue (packet p. 70), while the attached agreement form sets 10% in years 1–10, 11% in years 11–20 and 12% in years 21–30 (packet p. 82). The ordinance says the sites now pay about $280,000 a year in taxes and projects more than $16.4 million in service charges over 30 years.

Existing PILOTs. The state’s 2026 PILOT database lists seven Franklin projects billing $377,704.83 a year.

What residents can do. Each PILOT and redevelopment plan is adopted by ordinance, with a public hearing at second reading.

Redevelopment and PILOTs, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Resolved Council orders a condemnation-redevelopment study of Franklin Boulevard lots, 8–1Resolution 24-421 directed the Planning Board to study 600–610 Franklin Boulevard and 515 and 525 Lewis Street as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment, citing the Fair Housing Act. Ayes: Anbarasan, Francois, Kharazi, Kramer, Onyejiaka, Potosnak, Uddin, Vassanella. Nay: Wright.
  2. Resolved Planning Board hears the Franklin Boulevard redevelopment studyThe Planning Board held a public hearing on the CME Associates study of the Franklin Boulevard and Lewis Street lots and recommended that the Council designate them a condemnation area in need of redevelopment.
  3. Resolved Council rezones residential pockets off Route 27 from General Business to R-7Ordinance 4474-25 rezoned small residential areas in the Renaissance redevelopment area off Route 27 from General Business to R-7 single-family. Adopted 7–0, with Anbarasan and Francois absent.
  4. Resolved Franklin Boulevard lots designated a condemnation redevelopment area, 8–0Resolution 25-464 designated Block 233 Lots 1.01 and 2.01 (606–610 Franklin Boulevard) and Block 234 Lots 1, 14.01 and 16 (600 Franklin Boulevard; 515 and 525 Lewis Street) a condemnation area in need of redevelopment. The vote was 8–0, with Wright abstaining.
  5. Resolved Council adopts the Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Plan, Ordinance 4493-26The Council adopted Ordinance 4493-26, the redevelopment plan for the Franklin Boulevard condemnation area, 8–0 with Francois absent. It provides for 120 age-restricted rentals, all affordable, at 606–610 Franklin Boulevard. No one commented.
  6. Resolved Amended spending plan commits $3.5 million to The Haven and $3.44 million to Franklin BoulevardResolution 26-388 approved an amended Fourth Round spending plan for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, on the consent agenda, 9–0. As reproduced in the minutes, it commits $3,500,000 to The Haven at 260 Davidson Avenue and about $3,440,000 to 606–610 Franklin Boulevard.
  7. Resolved Development agreement for 260 Davidson; Haven PILOT introducedResolution 26-415 approved a development agreement and notice of intent with CWP-ASR Somerset I LLC and CWP-ASR Somerset II LLC for The Haven at 260 Davidson Avenue, with the property deed-restricted "for at least thirty (30) years." The PILOT, Ordinance 4520-26, was introduced 5–0.
  8. Resolved Council adopts the Haven PILOT, Ordinance 4520-26, 9–0The Council adopted a financial agreement exempting The Haven at 260 Davidson Avenue (142 affordable units) from property tax for as long as it remains under affordability controls, with a service charge of 4% of annual gross revenue. No one spoke at the hearing; in public discussion, four residents questioned the project or its PILOT.
  9. Pending Churchill-Millstone PILOT, Ordinance 4522-26, on the agenda for first readingOrdinance 4522-26 would give Somerset Street Urban Renewal Associates a 30-year PILOT for 124 market-rate units, the last two Churchill-Millstone phases on Route 27. A hearing is set for November 10, 2026. The minutes are not yet posted, so the first-reading vote is not known.

Explainers

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Meetings

  • Township Council — October 27, 2026

    Minutes not yet posted. The agenda put Ord. 4522-26 on first reading: a 30-year PILOT for the final two phases of the Churchill-Millstone development on Route 27. It also listed the FMBA Local 88 contract, a final change order lowering the Cedar Brook water main contract to $941,685.91, and two police motorcycles. This page describes the agenda only; it records no votes.

  • Township Council — October 13, 2026

    The Council adopted Ord. 4517-26 (cluster subdivisions) and Ord. 4520-26, the PILOT for the CWP-ASR Somerset I and II affordable-housing project at 260 Davidson Avenue, each 9-0. In Public Discussion residents spoke on the Flock license-plate cameras, the Sentinel data center in South Brunswick and the NESE project, the Davidson Avenue housing site, PILOTs, stormwater and truck traffic. Mr. Singh said he supported a full public review and a new vote on the cameras.

  • Township Council — September 22, 2026

    With six members present, the Council adopted the $1,380,000 Catalpa Park open-space ordinance 6-0 and introduced Ord. 4520-26, a PILOT financial agreement for the CWP-ASR Somerset project at 260 Davidson Avenue, 5-0. Five residents raised leaks and water pressure after the King Road and Cedar Brook Drive water main work, and seven spoke on the Flock cameras.

  • Township Council — February 10, 2026

    The Council appointed Shubhendu Singh to the vacant Ward 1 seat, 8-0, then adopted the four inclusionary zoning ordinances for the Fourth Round housing plan and the Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Plan amendment, each 8-0, after a property owner's lawyer asked for a delay. Ten residents spoke, most on snow and ice removal and on traffic lights.

  • Planning Board — January 21, 2026

    The Planning Board memorialized its resolution adopting the B-I zone Master Plan reexamination, 5-0, and found the Fourth Round inclusionary-zoning ordinances 4489-26 to 4492-26 and redevelopment ordinance 4493-26 not inconsistent with the Master Plan. It extended the approval for a warehouse expansion at 50 Atrium Drive and held a work session on the general reexamination.

  • Township Council — January 13, 2026

    The Council ratified its settlement with Fair Share Housing Center on the Fourth Round housing plan and introduced four inclusionary zoning ordinances (MFIZ-1, -2, -4 and -5), an amendment to the Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Plan and a water curb-connection fee ordinance, each 9-0. Three residents asked for help against the NESE project; the Council met in closed session on "Williams Transco".

  • Township Council — October 28, 2025

    The Council designated 606–610 Franklin Boulevard and neighbouring lots (Block 233, Lots 1.01 and 2.01; Block 234, Lots 1, 14.01 and 16) an area in need of redevelopment with condemnation powers, 8-0 with Mr. Wright abstaining. It adopted Ord. 4483-25, which bars the routine use of fossil-fuel on-site generators, 9-0, and sent $10,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to the Franklin Food Bank ahead of an expected SNAP disruption.

Sources for this overview

  1. Township Council minutes, October 28, 2025 (Res. 25-464)
  2. Ordinance 4493-26, Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Plan
  3. Ordinance 4520-26, PILOT for CWP-ASR Somerset I and II (260 Davidson Avenue)
  4. Ordinance 4522-26, PILOT for the Churchill-Millstone Redevelopment Area
  5. Township Council agenda, October 27, 2026
  6. NJ DCA PILOT Database 2026
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