The 64-unit complex is planned for a site on Executive Drive near Route 73.
Evesham Township Council has approved a 30-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement for a proposed 64-unit apartment complex, of which 100 percent of the units will be designated as affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.
With the complex planned for a site on Executive Drive near Route 73, the property was until recently zoned for commercial and/or industrial use.
However, township council approved rezoning the area as a “Workforce Affordable Residential Zoning District” at a meeting in June to allow types of complexes that could feature affordable housing units.
Soon after, the Evesham Township Planning Board approved the 64-unit project.
To be named the “Cornerstone at Marlton,” the complex will spread the 64 apartment units throughout three buildings. The project will include a pair of three-story buildings where 24 units will be located, with a separate building to include another 16 units.
Under current plans, 16 units will be three-bedroom apartments, 36 units will be two-bedroom apartments and the remaining 12 units will be one-bedroom apartments.
According to approved PILOT agreement, upon substantial completion of the project and for 15 years thereafter the township will receive an annual service charge equal to 5 percent of the annual gross revenue of the complex.
For years 16 through 21, the township will receive the previous 5 percent of the annual gross revenue or 20 percent of the amount of taxes otherwise due on the value of the land and improvements — whichever shall be greater.
For years 22 through 27, the township will receive the previous 5 percent of the annual gross revenue or 40 percent of the amount of taxes otherwise due on the value of the land and improvements — whichever shall be greater.
For years 28 through 29, the township will receive the previous 5 percent of the annual gross revenue or 60 percent of the amount of taxes otherwise due on the value of the land and improvements — whichever shall be greater.
For the final year 30 of the agreement, the township will receive the previous 5 percent of the annual gross revenue or 80 percent of the amount of taxes otherwise due on the value of the land and improvements — whichever shall be greater.
The Cornerstone project comes as the township continues work to meet its constitutionally mandated affordable housing obligation, as outlined by the state Supreme Court’s 1975 Mount Laurel decision where the court determined municipalities in the state must provide opportunities for affordable housing.
The obligations were further outlined in 1985, when the state created the Council on Affordable Housing through its Fair Share Housing Act, which was meant to ensure municipalities in the state were meeting their affordable housing obligations.
However, the COAH’s last affordable housing guidelines expired in 1999, and eventually the state Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that municipalities’ obligations would instead be subject to a judicial review from lower courts.
In that time, the nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center based in Cherry Hill has been working as a type of intermediary between the courts and municipalities, such as Evesham, to settle affordable housing obligations.
In addition to the Cornerstone Project, Evesham’s planning board also recently approved a 68-unit complex on Stow Road for senior citizens who are of low- and moderate-income.
That complex will feature one, four-story building with five, two-bedroom units and 63 one-bedroom units.
