Why Basking Ridge's Proposed 55+ Townhomes Have Four Bedrooms, and What That Says About Downsizing Here

Late in the Bernards Township Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on July 16, 2026, a board member asked a short question about the active-adult townhouse plan for 131 Morristown Road. Were all the market-rate units four bedrooms? "They are," the project architect, Rob Larsen, answered. She then asked why homes in a 55-plus community would be so large.

His answer, in the township's hearing transcript, explains a lot about how downsizing in Basking Ridge is being defined right now. The new product aimed at long-time homeowners who want to stay in Bernards Township gets rid of the yard work and the second-floor primary suite. It does not get rid of the square footage, and on the one price estimate made public so far, it does not get rid of much of the cost either.

What Is Actually on the Drawings

The application comes from 131 Morristown Road LLC, which is controlled by Adoni Property Group of Westfield. It would replace a two-building office complex of 227,000 square feet on Route 202, across from Van Dorn Road. UnitedHealth Group occupied the complex for years, and it is now mostly vacant. The site covers 32.47 acres.

The applicant's architectural set dated July 6, 2026 lists seven unit types:

The plan also includes a community clubhouse of 6,110 square feet.

The count has changed several times and may change again. The application started at 119 homes. At the July 16 hearing the applicant's engineer described 131 homes in 42 buildings, 105 market-rate and 26 affordable. On September 17, as Patch reported, the applicant told the board it would reduce the plan to 125 homes, 25 of them affordable, and return with revised drawings. The project has not been approved. The board carried the hearing to a special meeting on October 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Every market-rate unit falls between about 2,450 and 2,970 square feet. Even the smallest one is a substantial house.

The Architect's Case for the Extra Rooms

Larsen said he was surprised by how many developers have asked for this layout, and then explained what buyers do with it:

"Many of these people are moving down from very large homes, and those rooms are used as office or den. Not all husbands and wives sleep in the same bedroom as they get older. When the kids do visit, whether they stay for the permitted period of time, or whether their kids just come and stay, have the grand kids for a visit. The market calls for it."

He added that the age restriction still governs who can live in the homes.

What the design does give up is the staircase as a daily requirement. Larsen testified that every market-rate home has a bedroom and laundry on the first floor, and that the affordable homes are fully accessible, with a first-floor bedroom and accessible bathing. In answer to a resident's question, he confirmed that no elevators are proposed in any unit.

So the trade on offer is single-floor living as an option inside a two-story home of 2,500 to 3,000 square feet. A homeowner leaving a large colonial would give up the lawn, the exterior maintenance and the daily climb. They would keep most of the room count.

The Floor Plan Sets the Price

Larger homes cost more, and here the only public price figure lines up with the floor plans. When the plan stood at 119 homes, New Jersey Hills Media Group reported that the applicant's traffic consultant report anticipated about $1.4 million per unit. That number belongs to an earlier version of the project. No updated pricing has been published for the 125-home plan.

The comparison below uses the New Jersey REALTORS® Local Market Update for Somerset County, August 2026, with data current as of September 9, 2026. These are countywide figures. Municipality-level reports are not publicly posted.

On the earlier estimate, a new market-rate home on Route 202 would cost more than twice the county's adult-community median for the first eight months of 2026. It would also cost well above the county's single-family median. The adult-community segment is thin, with 16 closed sales in August 2026 and 39 homes for sale at month's end. The report itself warns that small samples can make percentage changes look extreme.

The townhouse-condo segment moved in another direction this year. Countywide inventory rose from 122 homes in August 2025 to 187 in August 2026, and months of supply went from 1.4 to 2.5. Buyers who want a smaller resale attached home have more to choose from than they did a year ago. Buyers who want new age-restricted construction in Basking Ridge are waiting on a zoning board.

For a long-time owner, this changes the calculation. Downsizing is often expected to free up money. A move into new 55-plus construction in town, priced anywhere near the earlier estimate, could keep about as much money in housing as before. The extra cash tends to come from the resale market or from leaving town, not from the newest local product.

The Homes Sized Like a Conventional Downsize Are the Affordable Ones

On the drawings, the most compact homes are the income-restricted ones. Bernards Township has an ordinance requiring a 20 percent affordable set-aside on large projects. At the April hearing, according to New Jersey Hills, the applicant's attorney offered a $10 million payment to the township's affordable housing trust fund instead of building those homes. In May, the board attorney said the set-aside was mandatory, and the applicant agreed to build the units on site.

The same outlet explained the usual arrangement: the market-rate homes in a project subsidize the cost of the income-restricted ones, typically at a ratio of four to one. The applicant's planner told the board that 20 percent provides "an appropriate amount of affordable housing while still providing for a financially viable project." Township representatives said Bernards had already met its fourth-round affordable housing obligation, but that the local ordinance still applies to this project.

At the September hearing, Larsen said garages would be added to the affordable homes. He also said those homes "will remain accessible and their size cannot get small because I can't change that requirement." That change led to the reduction to 125 homes. Each affordable unit covers 1,425 square feet. In practice, the subsidy model means the larger homes carry the cost of the smaller ones.

What Already Exists in Bernards Township

The pending plan fits into a short list of age-restricted options already in town, and each serves a different need.

• Ridge Oak is an existing income-restricted senior community of 308 units for residents 62 and older. According to TAPinto Basking Ridge, the Planning Board approved a 29-unit expansion called Ridge Oak IV at 95 and 150 Manchester Drive at its May 5, 2026 meeting. The expansion is for low- and moderate-income seniors, and no completion date has been published.
• Fellowship Village on Fellowship Road is an existing continuing-care retirement community. In 2025 the Planning Board reviewed amenity improvements there, not new homes.
• The Hills is the township's best-known supply of resale townhomes. It includes Patriot Hill, a Toll Brothers community of 261 townhomes built from 1999 to 2001. These homes are not age-restricted, and buyers there are choosing among homes that are 25 years old or more.

Four Seasons at Chester has 120 units of 2,500 to 2,900 square feet. Large-format 55-plus townhomes already exist in the region.

Questions Worth Asking About Any Age-Restricted Floor Plan

1. Is the first-floor bedroom a true primary suite, or a secondary room that works for guests?
2. Does the plan include an elevator or space for one later? The current Route 202 drawings include neither.
3. What does the homeowners association cover, and which company is proposed to operate it?
4. Where is the project in the approval process: application, approval, construction, or sales?
5. Is the price quoted for the current version of the plan, or an earlier one?
6. How large is the unit compared with the home being sold, and will the move actually free up equity?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Estates at Basking Ridge approved? No. As of the September 17 hearing, the applicant was preparing revised plans for 125 homes, and the board carried the application to a special meeting on October 28, 2026. The application documents are posted on the township website.

Will the homes be sold or rented? New Jersey Hills reported that all units in the project would be for sale.

Is Ridge Oak IV the same kind of housing? No. Ridge Oak IV is an income-restricted senior rental expansion of 29 units, approved separately by the Planning Board.

If you own a home in Basking Ridge and are weighing a move into one of these communities, a resale townhome, or a pending project like the one on Route 202, the first step is knowing what your current home would sell for today. Karen Tyrell can prepare a free home valuation and walk you through how that figure compares with the options available in Bernards Township, so you can decide calmly and on your own timeline.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.