Residents give feedback on train station redevelopment BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer SCOTT FRIEDMAN staff Urban planner Mark Evans talks with Edison resident Jane Tousman at the Train Station redevelopment workshop about issues she feels are important about the project. EDISON - Giant maps, computer displays, an army of experts and a wide variety of sandwiches and condiments greeted people visiting the Edison Exchange forum March 11 at the Pines Manor. The event, one of three open to the public, was intended to both get feedback from Edison residents and to provide them with information about a potential 44-acre mixed-use village development that the firm InterCap Holdings has been looking to create around the Edison train station. Steve Goldin, CEO and chair of the firm, said his company has spent more than $2 million on this effort, which he hopes will produce some sort of consensus for what this development will look like. Claims about the vast sums of money spent on public outreach alone seems dubious - until, that is, one actually sets foot in the large room in the Pines Manor that has been set up for the event. The brightly lit room does not have a single wall uncovered; there are maps, photographs and projection screens virtually everywhere, all detailing different aspects of the proposed development. Meanwhile, there is a long table full of sandwiches and wraps, as well as many pitchers of cola. People absentmindedly munch as they make their way from display to display. SCOTT FRIEDMAN staff Engineers (right) Ryan Linthicum and Chris Roche discuss planning with Edison residents Frank and Donna Kisko at the event/workshop at the Pines Manor on Sunday. Preparation for these workshops, Goldin said, has been in the works for more than a year. He has spent this time gathering experts in fields such as traffic, engineering, planning and ecology, and along with them, learning as much as possible about Edison. Staff members - or team members, as their large nametags say - man various stations and are not shy about discussing concerns people have about the development. A small sampling of the subjects covered in different sections in the room include public spaces, funding the project, environmental cleanup, traffic, conceptual designs, and what the street lamps will look like. Meanwhile, everyone who attended the workshop was given a sheet of stickers in several different colors. It was the primary way that people were asked to communicate. They were asked to place red stickers over the things they didn't like (almost no one, apparently, liked speed bumps to calm traffic) and green stickers on the things they liked (like colonial-style street lights). A presentation by the firm's main planner, Jim Constantine, discussed previous conversations with residents about what they want in the area. He said that Edison residents apparently have shown a preference for high-end shops and architecture, and pointed out for example that many had expressed interest in a hexagonal paving pattern, which tends to be associated with fancier developments. "You're telling us to shoot high," said Constantine. The development, he said, could have stores, restaurants and more, and up to 1,000 commuter spaces. He also pointed to the possibility of civic improvements, such as a new school or senior center. He also said there would be huge improvements to the train station itself, and illustrated this by superimposing concept drawings over photos of the current station. While a parking deck had originally been planned by New Jersey Transit, the state agency, at the request of InterCap, decided to hold off on construction to better integrate it with whatever vision ends up being produced from these workshops. Constantine presented three different possibilities for how the development could end up, and went over the pros and cons of each. The first would have almost no housing, except what the state mandates for affordable housing. These homes, he said, would probably be concentrated into a single area. The project would be primarily offices and other commercial structures. Constantine said it would provide the maximum tax revenue but would also have the heaviest impact on traffic, which almost everyone said was of deep concern to them. He said it would also take the longest to build out. "It's going to feel more like a place of employment," Constantine said. There was a short discussion after the presentation over whether it would be possible to simply buy out of the affordable housing obligation, but Constantine said the state has been discouraging this lately. "[This] would have a stronger residential flavor," he said. The second option was to maximize residential spaces and have a minimum of offices and other commercial uses. He said this would have the lowest traffic impact as well as a "strong tax revenue" base over a short period of time.The third option was the moderate one between the other two. According to the firm's spokesperson, John Jaffe, InterCap plans to study all the input and comments they get from residents during the workshops and synthesize them into a plan that will be presented to the public in April. Many residents felt that the concept itself was a good idea, and were excited about the possibility of new jobs in town and new entertainment, but also said there were still lingering concerns about traffic, especially when combined with other redevelopment projects in the area such as Hartz Mountain and the former Revlon site. "I tell you, it's a hell of an idea, it really is. I mean it," said Nick Abate. "And we need something like that, I mean it, we really do. … But traffic is going to be horrendous in that area. I don't know if they're going to be putting any new streets in, but they need to relieve some of that traffic. In order for me to get out of my street around 3:30 or 4 [p.m.], it's rough. This is going to make it really rough. How they're going to do this, I have no idea, I really don't."