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Town committee adopts redevelopment plan for 597 Mars Avenue, clearing way for 55+ building with affordable units
Summary
The Springfield Township Committee adopted ordinance 2025-12 on May 13, 2025, approving a redevelopment plan for 597 Mars Avenue that envisions a 38-unit, age-restricted (55+) building including six affordable units, underground parking with 65 spaces (seven EV spots) and street‑level improvements.
The Springfield Township Committee voted May 13 to adopt a redevelopment plan for 597 Mars Avenue, clearing a path for a 38-unit, age‑restricted building that the presenter said will include six affordable units and underground parking.
Supporters said the project would replace a long‑vacant, deteriorating corner with new housing and streetscape improvements. The plan presented to the committee calls for 38 age‑restricted (55+) units — 20 one‑bedroom and 18 two‑bedroom — about 4,300 square feet of amenity space, a dog park and 65 parking spaces including seven electric‑vehicle spots. The developer said all parking would be contained beneath the building and that there would be no new curb cuts on Mars Avenue.
The public hearing followed a Planning Board review. Committee members who spoke noted the project’s contribution to the township’s affordable‑housing obligations and downtown revitalization, while one member said traffic concerns remain and therefore abstained from the final vote. The ordinance passed on a roll call vote: four affirmatives and one abstention.
Committee members and staff emphasized that the redevelopment plan conforms to the township’s master plan and recent reexamination report and said additional site details and approvals will proceed through regular planning and permitting channels over the coming months. Officials estimated construction could take approximately two years from the start of work.
Resident comments during the hearing included both support for cleaning up the corner and questions about retail alternatives; committee members said the parcel had been marketed for multiple years and that retail developers had declined for economic or site‑constraint reasons.
What happens next: the redevelopment plan is in place and the town will move to permitting and site‑plan review phases. Committee members said they expect follow‑up public notices and planning‑board hearings as engineering, traffic studies and final landscaping plans are prepared.
