Six months after its last virtual presentation, the Silverman Group returned to the Morristown zoning board Wednesday with scaled-down plans for apartments at 35 Turtle Road, near the Morris Township border.
What was pitched in November as four stories with 45 units has been whittled to a three-story, 28-apartment building.
The script is following 2015, when Silverman gave a similar haircut to a nearly identical proposal, winning approval for a comparably sized apartment complex at the same location.
There even was a suggestion Wednesday for another “road trip” — a rare site visit.
On a weekend six years ago, board members scoped out a parking lot while munching cookies baked by the 10-year-old daughter of a Silverman employee. (Only two members remain from that board.)
What’s pending:
A new L-shaped structure (dubbed “Turtle Two”) would sit in the parking lot behind two commercial buildings at 161-163 Madison Ave., across a service road from Silverman’s first 28-unit apartment building (“Turtle One”).
Just as with Turtle One, Turtle Two needs a use variance to allow multifamily housing. The property is zoned for medical and professional offices, child care and nursing homes.
Variances also are required to exceed a floor area ratio, and to reduce the office parking lot from 354 spaces to 281 spaces, to accommodate the new apartments.
Planner Michael Tobia described the project as “luxury-style” housing.
Rents for Turtle One range from about $2,300 for one bedroom to $3,500 for two bedrooms, Tobia said. Its amenities–yoga-, exercise- and game rooms–would be shared with Turtle Two tenants.
Turtle Two calls for 20 two-bedroom units, and eight with one bedroom. Four units would be designated as affordable, Tobia said.
Two floors of apartments would be layered above a parking level, said architect Oliver Franklin. Fifty-three spaces would be allocated. A 4,500-square-foot patio is envisioned as well.
The proposed units are behind the CareOne rehab center, and near the Convent Mews and Village at Convent Station condos.
Project engineer Kyle McKenna testified briefly. Traffic testimony will come at a future meeting. The next hearing is scheduled for June 2, 2021.
Back in 2014, the Morristown zoning board shot down a childcare center proposed for Silverman’s parking lot.
Area residents had voiced concerns that a Rainbow Academy would snarl traffic on Turtle Road and at the Turtle/Madison Avenue/Franklin Street intersection.
Residents subsequently opposed the Turtle One apartments, arguing for seven town homes, as allowed by zoning.
