Wood-Ridge transit redevelopment site moves ahead with Pulte project

The builder, Pulte Homes, announced Wednesday it has started work on what will be 217 for-sale town homes, part of the larger master plan by Somerset Development. The so-called Liberty Square at Wesmont Station complex is expected to open in summer 2014.
The for-sale component is the latest milestone in a decade-old project to transform the former Curtiss-Wright aircraft plant into a mixed-use transit village, a plan that hinges on construction of a new NJ Transit train station. The Bergen County project was jump-started in 2011 when AvalonBay Communities Inc. started work on a four-building, two-phase residential component with some 400 units.
That component was completed earlier this year, and Lakewood-based Somerset Development has sought other partners for the sprawling project. In a news release, the companies said future phases of Wesmont Station will include new single-family homes, town homes and an overall layout that’s pedestrian-friendly.
A new train station would give residents a roughly 25-minute ride into Manhattan. An NJ Transit spokesman said Wednesday that the contractor is in the process of submitting plans to the agency and the project engineer for review and approval, a process that is expected to take a few months.