Middlesex County planning staff report 22 applications in February; notable projects in Cranbury, East Brunswick and South Plainfield

Kate Nell, a staff member from the Middlesex County Office of Planning, presented the Development Review Committee (DRC) report for February and summarized the month's activity to the Planning Board.

"There were a total of 22 applications in February: one minor subdivision, one fine subdivision, 12 site plans, and eight extensions," Kate Nell said. She noted the count was similar to February 2024, when 25 applications appeared on the agenda.

Highlights included approvals and conditional approvals for several large projects: three new nonresidential lots associated with a proposed Wawa development in Patuxent; two new residential lots in Middlesex tied to Eastside plan applications combined to 458 residential units, and multiple nonresidential components totaling about 72,000 square feet of commercial space, 74,300 square feet of industrial space, 24,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space and seven mixed-use residential units.

Specific projects called out in the report included the Kirzner project on South Main Street in Cranbury, a proposed 78,000-square-foot office building with a conditional approval requiring sidewalks and other public improvements along the South Main Street frontage; Miller phases 2 and 3, a continuation of a large redevelopment project on Route 18 in East Brunswick that is part of the previously discussed 458-unit total; and a PSE&G substation proposed for South Clinton Avenue in South Plainfield, for which sidewalks and public improvements were also required by condition.

Staff also processed three expedited site plans in February, including a 14-unit multifamily building in Perth Amboy, a fast-food restaurant in Woodbridge and a two-story mixed-use building on Route 27 in Edison with ground-floor retail and two residential units above.

Board members moved to accept the DRC report; a voice vote approved the motion.