14 houses OK’d for former playhouse, YMCA site

EAST BRUNSWICK — The Planning Board has granted amended preliminary approval for a development of 14 single-family homes at the corner of Ryders Lane and Dunhams Corner Road.

The homes will be built on properties sold by the Raritan Valley YMCA and East Brunswick Township to developer Marshal Weinerman. The YMCA has relocated and will soon begin operation of its new facility on Tices Lane. The township’s portion of the property was the site of Playhouse 22, and the town plans to build a replacement theater as part of a larger facility on the Heavenly Farms tract, Cranbury Road. The township received $1.3 million for the Playhouse 22 site.

The property, which totals 7.5 acres, is bordered by residential developments, a firehouse and a synagogue.

The development, which is proposed by Irene Associates and will have a homeowners association, will be accessible via a cul-de-sac leading from Dunhams Corner Road.

The homes are each slated to be about 3,000 square feet.

Planning Board Chairman Shawn Taylor said the board felt it was “a good application, not a massive development.”

He said the homes are more appropriate for the area, which is a single-family residential zone, and noted it is close to Colonial Oaks and other housing developments. There are also several religious organizations located in the vicinity.

A traffic expert told the board during a hearing last year that the new development will actually generate less vehicular traffic than the prior uses on the property.

The board approved the plan at its Jan. 26 meeting.