By Brendan McGrath, The Times of Trenton
EWING — Campus Town, the $86 million private-public project that will bring college housing, restaurants and shops to The College of New Jersey, is becoming a reality, as much of the steelwork already towers above the construction barrier that has lined Route 31 for the last year.
“It’s exciting to see the buildings take shape,” said college spokesman David Muha. “It’s possible to imagine what the complex might be like when it’s complete.”
The PRC Group, which is developing the site, is already lining up the businesses that will fill in 80,000 square feet of retail space at the nine-building, 278,000-square-foot complex.
The anchor store will be a 14,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble bookstore and café, said Greg Lentine, PRC’s director of university campus development. PRC has also reached deals for a Mexican Mariachi Grill, Red Berry Frozen Yogurt and Yummy Sushi, Lentine said.
All of the construction should be completed next June, Lentine said, giving stores time to move in ahead of the planned August 2015 opening.
Campus Town’s design involves a mixture of one-, two- and four-bedroom apartments built on top of first-floor retail space. Lentine said that PRC will soon set up a rental office for students who wish to apply for fall 2015 housing, and he is confident that students will be drawn to living at Campus Town.
“Even when you get out of school, your apartment isn’t going to be as nice as this,” Lentine said.
The retail portion of the complex will be called The Shoppes at 31 and Main, in reference to Campus Town’s main entrance — Route 31 and Main Boulevard — where a traffic light will be installed.
PRC is also considering bringing in a full service restaurant and bar, an Italian restaurant, a hair-cutting shop, a sporting goods store and a dry cleaner, among other businesses, Lentine said.
Campus Town will provide housing for 446 students, Lentine said. While the apartments will be for students and be located on college property, they will not be part of TCNJ’s on-campus housing, Lentine said, so PRC is hiring a firm to manage the rental process.
Parking for the students living in the complex will be separate from public parking for the shops, Lentine said.
Muha applauded the flexibility for building and design of the project that was afforded by the 2009 New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act. It allows public colleges and universities to bypass public bidding laws and make deals with private companies to build and operate campus facilities.
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