New 27-Unit Apartment Complex Back On Table For Sewaren

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Yet another new apartment complex is being eyed for Woodbridge Township:

An apartment complex called the Arches at Sewaren was rejected by the Woodbridge Zoning Board last November, but is now back on the table this March before the Zoning Board.

It is scheduled to be heard March 23 before the Woodbridge Zoning Board, at their 6 p.m. meeting, according to a public notice the Zoning Board is legally required to put in the Home News-Tribune.

As Patch reported last year, the Arches at Sewaren will be located at lots 551, 555 and 561 of West Avenue in Sewaren. It will consist of two two-and-a-half-story buildings, with 27 apartment units total. It will be located in a beautiful neighborhood of old Victorian homes, and the Arches will have a Victorian look and feel. See a rendering here.

It was originally 28 apartments, but is now 27 apartments and a community room. There will also be a parking lot for 50 cars built in the back.

It is seeking multiple variances from the Woodbridge Zoning Board because it is a multi-family dwelling in a single-family residential zone.

Sandra Vanorden is a lifelong resident of Sewaren, who is against the project.

"We just feel it doesn't fit in with the neighborhood," she told Patch Wednesday. "It is a neighborhood of residential, single-family homes and this is a multi-unit apartment complex with a huge parking lot in the back. There's so much stuff being built in Woodbridge and the town is changing so much. It's honestly causing people to move out because of this."

Vanorden was one of seven Sewaren residents who spoke before the Woodbridge Zoning Board last November, and she thinks it was their speaking up that helped convince the Zoning Board to initially reject the developer's proposal.

"There were only seven of us at that November meeting, but the builders were so condescending at that meeting that it really irritated me," she said. "We brought up issues such as increased traffic and light pollution from the parking lot. They are supposed to notify people who live within so many feet of the building, but not many people know about this."

Vanorden said the developer "added lampshades to the parking lot to help reduce the light pollution."

"But not many changes were made to the original plan. They reduced the unit count from 28 to 27 by converting one of the units into a 'community room'. However, they did nothing to reduce to size of the building. It's massive."

She also said the developer claims they have precedence because of the Ivy Apartments located on West Avenue next door.

"But the Ivy Apartments were built 42 years ago, prior to when the R15 Zoning Laws were established for this neighborhood. There is no precedence," she said.

At the Nov. 2, 2022 Woodbridge Zoning Board meeting, the Arches was denied by only one vote, 4-3.

"We won by only one vote," she said. "A new hearing has been set for March 23. We'll be better equipped this time around."

There is currently an old home on those lots, originally called "The Arches," and it was also the site of the original Sewaren library. Some of the lots are wooded. That old home on the lots will be torn down.

Vanorder also maintains the Sewaren History page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sewar...

The principal investor and owner of Arches at Sewaren, LLC, is Thomas J. Fallon of Manalapan. The architect is Michael Testa of Manalapan.

Initial Patch report: Application For Sewaren Apartments Rejected By Woodbridge Zoning Board (Nov. 2022)