By Marion Filler
It took several hearings and a site visit, but Morristown’s zoning board on Wednesday finally gave the go-ahead for the Turtle Two apartment complex.
Twenty-eight units will be built near Turtle One, a similarly sized complex in a Turtle Road parking lot behind a CareOne facility and commercial buildings at 161-163 Madison Ave.
The vote was unanimous, but the journey has not been easy for the Silverman Group.
Turtle One was pitched as a daycare center, but after numerous hearings and stiff local opposition, it was shot down. So the developers shifted to apartments, dubbed Turtle Road Commons and approved in 2015.
Turtle Two started in November 2020 as a proposal for 46 units on four floors. Negotiations reduced that to 28 units on three floors.
Traffic flow and shared parking issues were ironed out to the board’s satisfaction, but a sidewalk along Turtle Road to Madison Avenue and a crosswalk across Turtle Road have yet to be incorporated into the site plan.
The last-minute addition of a pocket park — which elaborated upon a suggestion for more green space at the last meeting — took the project over the finish line.
It replaces a paved buffer between the apartments and the parking lot.
“We are pulling up a bunch of asphalt,” Michael Tobia, planner for the Silverman Group, said at the virtual meeting.
He described the new amenity as measuring about 230 feet long by 70 feet wide along the back of the apartments. It will include a yoga circle, a dog run around the north side of the building, and a fire pit, table, benches, and assorted plantings. There also will be 10 visitor parking spots along the perimeter.
Tobia demonstrated how moving the property line 38 feet between the new building and the existing office is another perk that follows the design change.
“The result is the office lot gets smaller and the parking lot gets bigger, which in turn eliminates the need for a FAR (floor area ratio) variance for this case.”
The pocket park changed “what to me felt like a building in a parking lot,” said board Chairman Steve Pylypchuk.
He noted there would be more to discuss, especially the use of artificial turf and the amount of hard surface in the proposal that he would like to see replaced with more grass.
“At least the thought has been created,” said Pylypchuk, as he endorsed the project.
There were no calls from the public. The property originally was zoned for medical and professional offices, child care and nursing homes.
The project now moves to the next step, a site plan application where the park, sidewalk and crosswalk will be discussed in detail.
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Morristown zoning board approves 'Turtle Two' apartments for parking lot; 'pocket park' clinches the deal - Morristown Green
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