Drew University plan calls for up to 700 new homes. Is deal to preserve forest dead?
William Westhoven, Morristown Daily Record
The path to preserving 51 forested acres on the Drew University campus once again appears in jeopardy after the school proposed building hundreds of residential units — despite a tentative agreement with Madison borough to save the property.
The borough's affordable housing plan, submitted to the state on June 23, includes details of a proposal by the university to build 492 residential units on two lots that are near, but not considered part of, the Drew Forest parcel. Those lots, totaling about 11 acres, are already under contract to North Jersey developer Avalon Bay.
Of those units, 20% would be reserved for low- or moderate-income residents and count towards Madison's state-mandated affordable-housing obligations. They are part of the Round 4 Housing Element and Fair Share Plan the town submitted last month to comply with a new state law.
That was expected by preservation advocates. But the university's proposal also identifies the two Drew Forest lots as "ideal" for a 208-unit townhome community. Those lots were not included in Madison's latest calculations of land considered to have redevelopment potential.
Has Drew Forest deal gone south?
The Drew plan has left both Madison officials and members of a local environmental group wondering if the school is still committed to preservation, as it announced late last year in what the two sides called a "landmark agreement," or if the new proposal is a bargaining tactic.
The announcement seemed to promise an end to two years of negotiations, legal battles and a public campaign to protect the property, which is used by students as a living laboratory in environmental studies while also serving as a buffer between the campus and neighboring homes.
While full terms of the November agreement were never revealed, Madison officials at one point said they had offered more than $65 million — consisting of local, county and federal funds.
But conflicts arose when Madison excluded the Drew properties from its vacant land analysis, a procedure required by the state to identify developable parcels in the borough. That move lowered Madison's affordable-housing obligation but also devalued the market value of Drew's acreage.
School officials have insisted on their need to sell some of the land at fair-market prices to bring in badly needed post-COVID revenue. They took legal action to force Madison to revalue the property.
On Wednesday, Madison administrator Ray Codey declined to comment on Drew's latest housing proposal. University officials released a statement affirming that they remain "hopeful that a settlement with Madison can be accomplished, which will result in Drew obtaining fair value for its surplus lands while assisting Madison with its constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing to deserving residents in the region.”
Judy Kroll, co-chair of the Friends of the Drew Forest, a nonprofit granted intervenor status in the legal actions, said, "I don't understand what [Drew is] trying to accomplish" with the housing proposal. Her group is grateful to Madison for its continuing efforts to preserve the forest lots, she added.
"We are not party to the negotiations, so we don't really know what the sticking points are," Kroll said. "We remain committed to helping in any way we can to get a conservation sale completed."
$65 million price tag
The agreement announced in November called for the borough to purchase the Drew Forest property and also paved the way for the university to sell additional land for a multi-family housing project.
The specifics of the term sheet signed by both sides were not disclosed. But in September, Madison released a statement saying it had made a "final" offer that was "valued at more than $65 million." That would pay for approximately 51 acres of forested land, including the university's Zuck Arboretum and Hepburn Woods, as well as properties along Glenwild and Green Village roads.
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One way or another, more development is slated for Madison. The borough's Fourth Round housing report also included plans for additional redevelopment, including a 24-acre parcel of land on the Giralda Farms office park.
Madison is also appealing a judge's decision in March ordering it to recalculate its affordable housing quota. The borough is awaiting a court review of the plan submitted to the state on June 23. After the judge rules whether to accept the plan or order a new one, the town and university would both have 45 days to appeal that decision.