Morris Township's next round of new for-sale homes is taking shape on former office property. A credit formula in New Jersey's 2024 affordable housing law makes those sites worth more toward the township's state obligation than almost any other land in town. The result is a pipeline made mostly of townhomes. Its prices sit right at the county's condo median at the low end, and its top end lands above what a typical Morris County single-family home sells for.
The clearest example is 300 Madison Avenue, the former JCP&L office site near Convent Station. There, Toll Brothers has proposed 118 townhomes. The Planning Board takes the plan up again on Oct. 19, 2026. The Township Committee rezoned the site for exactly 118 homes back on March 9, so housing on that land was settled seven months before the site plan reached a hearing.
The Half-Credit That Points Toward Office Parks
Every New Jersey municipality has to plan for its share of affordable housing over the fourth round, which runs from 2025 through 2035. State officials first set Morris Township's prospective need at 571 affordable homes. After objections, mediation and settlements, the number came down to 375. A Superior Court judge approved the settlements in February 2026, and the Planning Board adopted the amended plan on March 2.
The township's official minutes show that 203 of those 375 units are covered without new construction: 134 through extended affordability controls on existing homes and 69 through bonus credits. The bonus credits matter most here. As Morristown Minute explained, the 2024 law scores affordable homes like this:
- Each eligible affordable home earns one basic credit.
- Some homes earn an extra half-credit, including homes built on previously developed office property or within half a mile of an NJ Transit station.
- Only one bonus category can apply to each home.
- The bonus counts toward compliance only. It does not add any physical homes.
300 Madison checks both boxes. It is an office property, and it sits about half a mile from Convent Station. Its 24 affordable homes could therefore count as up to 36 credits toward the 375-unit obligation. Any town trying to meet a state number with the fewest new homes has a clear reason to start with its empty office buildings, and the supply of those is large. Morristown Minute cited an Avison Young analysis published by Real Estate NJ. It counted 141 office-conversion projects statewide as of August 2025, either completed, active or proposed, and Morris County led with 47. The same report cited a 25% office vacancy rate across Northern and Central New Jersey in the second quarter of 2026.
What 300 Madison Avenue Would Become
The eight-acre site holds the vacant former JCP&L building and a two-story parking garage, and the plan demolishes both. Morristown Green reported that all 118 homes would be for sale, spread across 16 buildings. They include 55 three-story townhomes, a set of smaller stacked townhomes and 24 affordable units. The three-story homes would have two-car garages, and most stacked units would have one-car garages. Homes without garages would get designated street parking. The plans also include an in-ground pool and a pool house.
At a Sept. 1 informational meeting, Toll Brothers officials gave estimated prices. As Morristown Green reported, they put stacked townhomes at $600,000 to $800,000 and three-story townhomes at $1.1 million to $1.2 million. These are developer estimates, not list prices.
The site plan also changes the streets around it. Entrances would come off Old Turnpike Road and Punch Bowl Road, and new sidewalks would run along Old Turnpike, Punch Bowl and Madison Avenue. Toll Brothers plans to remove 70 trees and plant 147. Its engineer said the large cherry tree at Madison Avenue and Punch Bowl Road can't be saved because of grading, drainage, utilities and the new sidewalks.
Why the Oct. 19 Hearing Is About Design
The Township Committee adopted Ordinance 06-26 on March 9, 2026, by a 3-1 vote. It created a residential affordable-housing zone at 300 Madison that allows no more than 118 homes, requires at least 24 affordable homes and caps height at three stories or 46.5 feet. You can read the ordinance text on the township's site. Toll's plan matches those numbers exactly and asks for no variances.
So the September hearing covered how the site would work. It did not revisit whether housing belongs there. According to TAPinto Morristown, board members asked about parking, emergency access, pedestrian safety, recreation, landscaping and mature trees. They took no vote and carried the hearing to Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. Morristown Green reported this from the developer's attorney, Joshua Koodray:
"We're doing our best within the realm of possibility to respond to all these comments that we've heard tonight. But the development is going to happen."
Morristown Minute described the board's job as deciding whether this specific design meets the zoning and site-plan standards the township has already adopted. The vote is still ahead, and materials, garage placement and the playground's location were all open questions in September. What is settled is the land use, the unit count and the share of affordable homes.
One Site in a Seven-Site Plan
300 Madison is the largest project now in public review, but it is one of several. Morristown Green described a seven-site framework totaling about 938 homes, about 195 of them affordable. The smallest site has already cleared the Planning Board. On Oct. 5, 2026, the board granted site plan approval at 291 James Street for three townhouse buildings with 14 homes, three of them affordable, one fewer than the framework assumed.
| Site | Planned homes | Affordable | Status in public records reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Columbia Road | Up to 382 | 84 | Rezoned; no site-plan case found |
| 221A/227 Sussex Avenue | Up to 175 townhomes | 35 | Rezoned; no site-plan case found |
| 300 Madison Avenue | 118 townhomes | 24 | Toll Brothers application; hearing Oct. 19 |
| 100 Southgate Parkway | Up to 104 townhomes | 21 | Rezoned; Toll has said it intends a similar project |
| 95 Mount Kemble Avenue | Up to 139 multifamily units and townhomes | 23 | Amended redevelopment plan adopted March 9 |
| 291 James Street | 15 townhouses in the framework; 14 approved | 3 | Site plan approved Oct. 5, 2026 |
| 4 Old Turnpike Road | Home | 5 credits plus 5 bonus | In framework |
The office pattern runs through the largest entries. Southgate is a vacant office property of about 19.2 acres, rezoned under Ordinance 07-26 for up to 104 townhomes. As of Sept. 4, the township's Planning Board records showed no site-plan application for it. 60 Columbia Road is also an office property. Morristown Minute calculated that if 300 Madison, Southgate and Columbia Road are all built as planned, they would produce up to 604 homes, 129 of them affordable. Those three former office sites alone account for roughly two-thirds of the framework's total.
Where the Prices Land Against the County
Township-level market reports from NJ REALTORS are limited to members, so the most recent public benchmark covers the whole county. In NJ REALTORS' August 2026 Morris County report, current as of Sept. 9, 2026, the townhouse-condo median sale price was $592,500 across 91 closed sales. Those homes averaged 30 days on market, and sellers received 102.9% of list price. The single-family median was $843,750 across 394 sales, with 24 days on market and 104.8% of list price received.
Set beside those figures, the 300 Madison estimates make two different products. The stacked townhomes, at $600,000 to $800,000, start just above the county's August townhouse-condo median. The three-story townhomes, at $1.1 million to $1.2 million, sit more than $250,000 above the county's August single-family median. In Morris County terms, a buyer shopping for one of those larger townhomes is spending what would buy a detached house in much of the county. The townhouse-condo category also blends townhomes with condos, so it can't show a townhome-only figure.
Inventory is tight in both categories. In August 2026 the county had 2.2 months of single-family supply and 1.9 months of townhouse-condo supply. Every new for-sale townhome adds to a thin pool. The homes would also open in phases spread over years, not all at once.
The Tax Line That Isn't Set Yet
At the Sept. 1 meeting, Toll Brothers said the property's annual tax bill could rise from about $400,000 to $1.7 million once construction is finished. Morristown Minute found county-derived records showing a current assessment of $21.4 million and an annual bill of $417,942, which supports the "before" figure. It could not find any calculation from the township tax assessor supporting the $1.7 million.
The individual unit bills will matter more to buyers. The township's assessor information says new construction is inspected after it is finished so assessments can be updated. The eventual bill depends on each completed home's assessment and on the municipal, school and county tax rates in effect at that time. Resale homes come with a tax history. A new townhome here would get its first full assessment only after it is built.
FAQ
Has the Planning Board approved 300 Madison Avenue? Not yet. The hearing was carried to Oct. 19, 2026, at 7 p.m., when the board will hear traffic testimony and public comment and could vote.
Will the townhomes add much traffic compared with the old office? The developer's traffic study projects 54 vehicle trips at the weekday morning peak hour and 59 at the evening peak. It compares those with 228 and 215 trips for a fully occupied 186,000-square-foot office. Morristown Minute pointed out that the office is vacant today, so the comparison is with a theoretical full building, not with current activity.
Are the affordable units separate from the market-rate homes? The ordinance allows market-rate and stacked townhouses with affordable homes integrated into the community. At least 24 of the 118 homes must be affordable.
If you're deciding between a new townhome on one of these former office sites and an established Morris Township home, the DeFazio Flanagan Team can compare recent township sales with the developer's pricing and explain how the tax timing on new construction differs from a resale. Connect with Margy & Denise for a personalized valuation and neighborhood consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
