EAST WINDSOR, NEW JERSEY, USA, May 12, 2006: A proposed US$142 million spiritual and commercial complex planned by a Hindu sect on 152 undeveloped acres near the New Jersey Turnpike will get a public airing later this month. The complex, in development for more than two years, could prove a powerful draw for central New Jersey’s Indian population if plans suggested by the B.A.P.S. sect — Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha — are well received during the public meeting May 25. Preliminary plans call for a house of worship, assembly hall, shopping center, food court, restaurant, library, research facility and monument as well as centers for conferences and exhibitions, youth, yoga and meditation. “This is the first proposal of its kind in New Jersey,” said Anthony “Skip” Cimino of the Manalapan-based Schoor DePalma Engineering, a firm hired by B.A.P.S. “The organization has deep roots in India and wants to be a good community citizen,” said Cimino, who is a former Hamilton school board member, Mercer County freeholder, state assemblyman and state personnel director. Before plans for the complex on land near Turnpike Exit 8 are submitted to the township government, the B.A.P.S. sect wants township residents to ask questions, express concerns and learn what the project will involve. According to the proposal, the complex would be open to the public, and more than half its land would be preserved as open space. At the May 25 presentation, representatives of the Indian socio-spiritual organization, with 1 million members worldwide, will detail what is proposed for the farmland tract west of Milford Road along the Turnpike and the Rocky Brook. Access would be from Milford Road. B.A.P.S. bought the land two years ago and now leases it to farmers. Last year, the group approached the township with its intentions, and Mayor Janice S. Mironov suggested a public presentation before plans are offered. “They approached the township with some informal discussions,” Mironov said. “At this point, they haven’t even finalized enough of a concept to make a public presentation.”
Mironov said the complex would be “much more than a house of worship” but the buildings would cover “only 20 of the 152 acres.” Currently zoned industrial, the project would require a zoning change. The Conair Corp. is to the south of the property, which is at the edge of the township’s business park. “We have a significant presence of Indians and Asians in the township,” Mironov said.
“This is a large project in its very initial stages,” Cimino said. “We agree with the mayor that it’s important to receive public input regarding our concept from the initial stages.” He said the site near the Turnpike makes for easy access without disrupting the community. Cimino said it was “too premature” to “roll out a time line” on the project. He said representatives of B.A.P.S. and lawyers Mark Citron and Henry Kent Smith will “detail the benefits to the community.” The proposed cultural center campus would include landscaped areas with ponds, fountain and gardens, with various facilities available for public use.
An announcement by BAPS, here, June 6, 2004, mentions the project: “Continuing the legacy of Akshardham monuments of Gandhinagar and New Delhi, Pramukh Swami Maharaj had done a divine sankalp seven years ago in 1997 to build an Akshardham monument and cultural complex in New Jersey. Just recently, land was purchased for this very purpose, and the traditional Hindu rite of Bhoomi Poojan took place on Sunday, June 6, 2004. Devotees gathered early in the morning on this auspicious occasion at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center. Although devotees were unable to go physically to the future site to perform the poojan, a bit of land from the site was given to everyone to perform all the rites. In addition to the poojan of the land, a traditional mahapooja was conducted by saints as well. Senior saints spoke about the importance of such a complex, and Swamishri mentioned in his blessings that such a complex would be open to all, and lead to preserve our cultural values.”