An all-affordable-housing development of 113 apartments near Wayne Hills High School has been approved for 9.45 acres of woods owned by Wayne Township.
The 1805 Valley Road project is included in the Township’s Affordable Housing Plan, and in March the Township adopted a redevelopment plan for the property following an investigation identifying it as an area in need of redevelopment.
However, the property – between the Pancake Hollow neighborhood and Barbour Pond Road – is undeveloped and is an old-growth forested lot.
Development is targeted only in the center of the acreage. Some of the property is subject to environmental constraints, including a wetland area, according to the development application.
The land also is a potential roosting area for long-eared bat species, and the developer has been told to install bat boxes to replace habitats in trees that need to be cleared.
A Planning Board resolution adopted on July 13 memorialized the board’s approval in May.
After the Township adopted the redevelopment plan, a request for proposals went out to potential redevelopers.
Wayne Valley Road Village LP, part of RPM Development Group of Montclair, was selected as the redeveloper. Edward Martoglio, CEO and co-founder of RPM, is listed as the 100% owner of Wayne Valley Road Village in the development application.
The project, to be named Barbour Pond Village, will have 62 apartments in one three-story building and 51 in the other. The units will be made up of 22 one-bedroom, 67 two-bedroom, and 24 three-bedroom apartments.
A traffic study submitted by the developer forecasts the apartments will add 40 weekday morning peak hour trips and 52 weekday evening peak hour trips.
The property is zoned Office Research, but the redevelopment designation supersedes the zoning.
