The Hopewell Borough Planning Board voted Wednesday night to deem the Hopewell 57 redevelopment application complete, a procedural but significant step that formally launches what board members acknowledged will likely be the most consequential land-use review the Borough has taken up in years.
The completeness determination allows the application — submitted by Hopewell 57 Urban Renewal Entity, LLC for properties at 57 Hamilton Ave. and 62 Somerset St. — to move forward to public hearings, where the project’s details will be examined in depth over multiple meetings. Board members emphasized that Wednesday’s action did not represent approval of the project itself, but rather a finding that sufficient materials had been submitted to begin formal review.
Context: a major redevelopment moves to the Planning Board
The Planning Board review follows the Borough Council’s December approval of a 30-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for the Hopewell 57 redevelopment, a $44 million project proposed for a long-underutilized industrial site near the edge of downtown. The project would bring 120 rental units — 96 market-rate and 24 affordable apartments — to the Hamilton Avenue site. Council members approved the PILOT after being told the project could not be financed without it, citing extraordinary costs tied to environmental remediation, flood mitigation, demolition, and structural fill.
With the financial agreement in place, the project now enters the Planning Board’s jurisdiction, where land-use issues such as site design, traffic, stormwater management, and public safety will be evaluated.
First Planning Board appearance of 2026
Wednesday’s meeting marked the Planning Board’s first meeting of 2026, combining its annual reorganization with routine business and the completeness review for Hopewell 57.
Board professionals noted that no testimony on the merits of the application was taken, and no public hearing was held, because the agenda item was limited strictly to determining whether the application met the threshold to proceed.
Waivers granted to allow review to begin
Planning Board professionals walked through the application checklist and recommended that the project be deemed complete with numerous waivers, a common practice for large redevelopment proposals where details are refined during hearings.
The waivers cited during the meeting included items tied to:
- Pending reviews by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
- Stormwater and floodplain details awaiting outside-agency determinations
- Engineering and construction elements typically finalized later in the process
Board members stressed that granting waivers for completeness does not prevent the board from requiring additional studies, revisions, or expert testimony later, nor does it limit the board’s authority to deny approvals if concerns are not resolved.
Board discussion highlights scale and scrutiny ahead
The completeness determination prompted extended discussion among board members, reflecting the scale of the project and the level of public attention it has drawn.
Planning Board Chair Peter Macholdt underscored the magnitude of the review ahead.
“This is probably the biggest thing that any of us up here are going to do while we’re on the board,” Macholdt said, adding that while waivers are inevitable on projects of this scale, scrutiny will intensify once hearings begin.
Some board members raised concerns that certain studies — including school and emergency services impacts referenced in redevelopment documents — were not yet publicly available, even if drafts had been submitted to board professionals. They questioned whether the standard ten-day notice period before hearings would give the public adequate time to review complex materials once hearings are scheduled.
Others countered that the completeness determination is designed to answer a narrow procedural question — whether the board has enough information to begin hearings — and that it is common for large projects to generate additional information requests as testimony unfolds.
Vote clears path to public hearings
After discussion, the Planning Board voted to deem the Hopewell 57 application complete with the recommended waivers, clearing the way for the first public hearing on the project..
The Planning Board is expected to begin substantive hearings as early as next month, when the applicant will present detailed testimony on architecture, traffic impacts, stormwater management, environmental conditions, and redevelopment plans, and residents will have opportunities to comment.
2026 Planning Board meeting schedule
The Planning Board also adopted its meeting schedule for the remainder of 2026. Meetings are typically held on Wednesdays, with additional meetings scheduled in several months to accommodate workload.
The board’s remaining 2026 meeting dates are:
- February 4 and February 18, 2026
- March 4 and March 18, 2026
- April 15, 2026
- May 6, 2026
- June 3, 2026
- July 1, 2026
- August 5, 2026
- September 2, 2026
- October 7, 2026
- November 4, 2026
- December 2, 2026
Board officials noted that the expanded schedule early in the year reflects the volume and complexity of applications expected to come before the board, including the Hopewell 57 redevelopment and approvals for affordable housing.
