The PNC Bank building on North Main Street in Cranbury is for sale and township residents are abuzz, with many in the community hoping the township will buy the building.
Community sentiment is split on the sale, however, with some critical of taking on more debt and others split over its potential use.
The Township Committee has heard significant comment on the sale already — 14 residents spoke at an April 21 committee meeting — and plans to get more feedback at a May 19 meeting.
There are several factors that weigh in favor of buying the 8,700-square-foot bank:
- It is located at the center of the village;
- It has made its parking lot available to the township as public parking;
- It could offer a relatively inexpensive way to address several community desires (the township could turn it into a new, free-standing library, arts center or community center — or some combination of the three), while opening space for the school library to expand;
- It is being offered at a shockingly low price — $1.395 million, about $400,000 less than its appraised value.
On the other side of the ledger is this question: Should the township take on more debt? In the past, we have cautioned the township against over-extending itself. Plus, there are several unknowns that the committee has to consider, most significantly the potential cost of providing affordable housing, especially given the size of the obligation currently being proposed.
That said, it is important to note that the committee has done a solid job of paying down its debt and it is likely that the affordable housing rules will change and the numbers assigned to Cranbury will fall dramatically. The fear that buying the bank building will bankrupt the community, to my way of thinking, is unfounded.
My sense is that PNC’s decision to sell offers the township a rare opportunity that probably won’t come around again.
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Hank Kalet 