InterCap presents village project plans to public
Council members pledge to oppose it if housing remains on the plans
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer

EDISON - The first phase of the Edison Exchange project, a large 44-acre mixed-use village center development that would be centered around the Edison Train Station, was completed on April 13 with a presentation of the proposed site plan before an audience of about 500 people.

The presentation showcased the proposed site plan, which would include both commercial and housing aspects, to Edison residents. It was the culmination of a lengthy public input process inwhich people shared ideas and criticisms of the proposed development.

Jonathan Jaffe, a spokesperson with InterCapHoldings, the firmthat is overseeing this development, said the companywill now spend the next few months reviewing the input they have received from the residents about the plan before coming forward again with a refined plan.

Jaffe said the concerns brought up during the presentation centered mostly on the traffic the developmentmight bring, as well as how the firm plans to finance it.

At themoment, the plan is expected to be paid for through a method called tax increment financing (TIF). InterCap's plan under thismodel is to post a $53million bond with a 35-year lifespan in order to fund the publicwork that comeswith the project, such as road improvements, to address growing traffic, and train station upgrades. The bond, according to InterCap, would be issued by the state at the risk of the investors.

The tax revenue generated from the site itselfwould finance the annual debt incurred from paying off the bond. The annual payments would remain fixed, though the tax revenue collected would not, and thus the excess would go into the township's coffers.

Many township officials said it was too early in the process for them to form a definite opinion one way or another about the project, though some expressed the concerns that they hopedwould be addressed once the firm came back before the public.

Edison Mayor Jun Choi said that he is still in "listening mode" with regard to the Edison Exchange, though he did express worry about the number of residential units proposed, about 783. Choi said there needs to be "greater discussion" on this, as well as how TIF can work.

Township Council President Robert Diehl had similar sentiments, but also noted that he is wary of residential development, saying that Edison has learned harsh lessons about its costs to the township in the past.

"We do notwant to see the type of overdevelopment that happened in the '80's that created some of the problems we face now," said Diehl.

With this in mind, the council passed a resolution in January that said they would not rezone any property in town for residential development unless forced to by some higher authority like the state. Passed unanimously by the council, its aim was to minimize future costs that residential development can bring, such as traffic and increased overhead for public services.

The tract of land the Edison Exchange project would be built upon is not currently zoned to allow residential development and would thus need action fromthe council before anything could be built. Diehl thinks that it's still too early to know whether things will even come to that, noting the tentative nature of the current plans, but said that if the final results include housing, he will stick to the resolution and not approve a rezone.

"If, in the future, this development comes to me, I will not be voting for it at this time. I don't plan to vote for anything that brings that many houses where we would have to rezone for that many houses and we're not mandated to do so," said Diehl.

Council members Antonia Ricigliano andWayne Mascola, when asked, also said they planned to stick by the resolution. Meanwhile, Councilman Anthony Massaro had heaped substantial praise upon the resolution when it was first voted on in January.

Anthony Russomanno, a Zoning Board member and a regular at township gatherings, was not happy at all about the Edison Exchange. He expressed suspicion over whether InterCap really planned to have the number of housing units it has currently proposed, saying that perhaps the number was meant to induce shock before introducing a smaller number that would be more palatable to the residents. He remains firmin his conviction that the project is some sort of trick.

"They think we're a bunch of hicks, these city-slicking guys coming over here, and they're going to pull the wool over our eyes, and I think it's unfair and there's no need for it.…We are going to fight this thing tooth and nail. … We will fight this thing with money, we will fight this thing in the neighborhoods, we will organize people in South Edison and help the people in North Edison understand itwill affect themjust as well," said Russomanno.