"We hope to close on the Drew Forest in the next six weeks or so, but we'll only execute the bond purchase when we are fully confident that closing is imminent." Councilman Eric Range, who chairs Madison's Finance Committee, said that at the September 28 Borough Council meeting, according to the Madison Eagle.
Eight days later, on October 6, about 90 people logged into a virtual Planning Board meeting about two parcels of Drew University land near Madison Avenue. The board postponed the hearing over a public-notice problem.
The two meetings were about the same transaction. The forest Madison is buying and the apartments planned for the campus edge come out of one court settlement. If you're comparing Madison with nearby towns, you're looking at a borough that agreed to new rental supply as part of what it took to keep the woods.
One Docket, Two Outcomes
The case is In the Matter of the Application of the Borough of Madison, Morris County docket MRS-L-1694-15. Madison's own housing plan says the borough went to Superior Court on June 12, 2015 to have its affordable-housing obligation determined. Drew filed claims in that case, and Drew and the borough settled them in an agreement dated January 9, 2026. Drew's argument went back to how Madison's housing plan treated university land and whether that land could realistically be developed. Drew's lawsuit said the borough's approach had hurt the land's market value.
The borough's January 12, 2026 announcement described both halves together. Madison would buy 47.3 acres of the Drew Forest for permanent preservation, and other surplus Drew land along Madison Avenue would be sold for multifamily inclusionary housing. The announcement left out a unit count. That number appears in the resolutions the Borough Council passed the same night, which are recorded in the January 12 council minutes.
What Each Side of the Settlement Contains
| Preservation side | Housing side | |
|---|---|---|
| Land | 47.3 acres of Drew Forest | Parcel B, about 4.492 acres, northeast portion of campus; Parcel C, about 3.877 acres, northwest corner |
| What happens | Borough purchase for permanent preservation | Residential rentals |
| Scale | $23.8 million purchase price | 305 units in total: 112 on Parcel B, 193 on Parcel C |
| Affordable share | Not applicable | 46 units: 17 on Parcel B, 29 on Parcel C |
| Also included | Madison House plus surrounding land and parking, bought by the borough for $400,000 | Parcel C bounded by Madison Avenue, Vinal Place, Lancaster Road and the campus interior |
The proportions explain the deal. About 8.4 acres of housing parcels sit next to roughly 47 acres of protected woodland, so the new density goes onto a small strip along Madison Avenue while most of the land stays undeveloped. The Eagle describes the forest as mature woodland with glacial ponds that also recharges the Buried Valley Aquifer, a regional groundwater source.
The affordable share is about 15 percent across both parcels. That's typical of inclusionary housing in New Jersey, where market-rate units in the same buildings cover the cost of the affordable ones. The same night, the council directed the Planning Board to add the two Drew projects to Madison's Third Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan and set a February 8, 2026 deadline for that amendment. The settlement did more than buy forest. It also resolved part of how Madison meets its housing obligations.
The Bill for the Woods Is Mostly Someone Else's Money
The $23.8 million headline figure doesn't reflect what the purchase costs Madison. In the Eagle's September report, the borough had already secured more than $10 million in county and federal funds. The council had also approved a $1.692 million grant agreement involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council. Madison expects about $4.7 million more from Green Acres over the next few years. If those grants come through, officials estimate the borough's share will be under $7 million.
Some grant money will arrive after closing, so Madison plans short-term borrowing to cover the gap. Before borrowing, the borough asked for an updated credit rating. Standard & Poor's reaffirmed Madison's AAA rating and gave the planned short-term borrowing its top rating as well. The council also authorized Madison's municipal electric utility to lend the borough up to $3 million at 3 percent annual interest for one month while it waits for grant payments.
The public figures don't all agree. The January announcement cited $9 million in state funding and a $5 million fundraising goal for the Friends of Drew Forest. The Eagle reported that an anonymous donor would match up to $2.5 million of that fundraising. The September update lists roughly $4.7 million in expected Green Acres money. January minutes show the borough applied for an extra $5.557 million Green Acres grant and agreed to cover any required local match. None of the sources reconcile these numbers. The "under $7 million" estimate depends on grants that haven't all been paid.
The Pieces Still Open as of October 7
For a buyer, what matters more than the forest is what goes up along Madison Avenue, and most of that hasn't been decided.
- The redevelopment designation. In January the council told the Planning Board to study whether Parcels B and C qualify as a "non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment" under state law, a process that requires public notice and hearings. The investigation report was listed as new business on the October 6 agenda. Board Chair Astri Baillie called the notice problem a "gray area," and the board moved the hearing to November 10. It ruled out November 3 because that's Election Day. Residents will get a new notice. Board attorney Vincent Loughlin said public comment on the study can't legally be heard before then.
- Closing. January coverage set a closing deadline of December 31, 2026. Environmental testing, a settlement with Fair Share Housing Center and the redevelopment proceedings all had to happen first. Earlier steps are finished. The council adopted a bond ordinance in July, and the Planning Board approved the subdivision separating the forest from the rest of Drew's land.
- The developer. No source names a developer for the 305 units. AvalonBay Communities appeared in an earlier concept attached to Madison's 2025 housing plan, but nothing ties that firm to the final settlement.
Unit counts and parcel boundaries are written into a council resolution. Building design, timing and the developer aren't public yet. If you're looking at homes on Vinal Place, Lancaster Road or that part of Madison Avenue, what you know for certain is how many units are coming and where. What they'll look like is still unknown.
How 305 Units Compares With What Madison Has Built
Madison's recent multifamily projects give some scale. The Madison Mall Apartments addition at 286–294 Main Street was approved as a 40-unit building. The borough's affordable development at 28 Walnut Street and Community Place has 44 units, 43 of them affordable plus a superintendent's unit. Madison's June 2025 housing plan described both projects as substantially complete. The Planning Board also approved a 281-unit building with seven affordable units at 1 Giralda Farms. That approval was conditioned on a separate all-affordable supportive-housing project at the same site, which was still waiting for its own hearing when the approval was reported.
Next to those numbers, the Drew parcels are large. Parcel C alone, at 193 units, is close to five times the size of the Main Street addition. The two Drew parcels together hold more units than Giralda Farms, and they sit on the main road between the train station end of downtown and the campus. Madison's fourth-round plan for 2025 to 2035 was reported as carrying a 206-unit prospective-need obligation. Its listed projects added up to 36 affordable units plus 27 bonus credits. That plan left the Drew Forest out as a development site, which is consistent with the forest going into preservation.
Why Drew Wanted the Deal
The Daily Record reported in March 2024 that the university had been upfront about its financial deficits coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and that selling the forest might help balance its books. In November 2024, Drew and Madison announced a nonbinding term sheet for a $65.1 million framework that combined forest preservation with development elsewhere on campus. That term sheet led to the January 2026 agreement but wasn't the agreement itself. Drew's January statement said the agreement would strengthen the university's financial foundation.
So the motives line up. Drew gets money for land it couldn't easily use, the borough gets permanent open space with most of the cost covered by grants, and the housing parcels count toward Madison's housing obligations. Each side needed the other's part of the deal for its own part to work.
A Short FAQ
Is the forest preserved yet? Not as of early October 2026. The purchase hadn't closed, and the deadline reported in January was December 31, 2026.
Why did earlier coverage say 53 acres? The Daily Record's March 2024 coverage described a 53-acre tract. The signed 2026 agreement covers 47.3 acres.
Are the 305 units for sale or for rent? The council resolution describes them as residential rental units.
Can residents comment on the redevelopment study? Yes, at the hearing now scheduled for November 10. Comment wasn't allowed on October 6 because the hearing was postponed.
If you're looking at homes near the Drew campus or Madison Avenue and want to sort the settled parts of this deal from the parts still waiting on November 10, The Power of 2 can go through the public record with you, one block at a time, before you write an offer. Schedule a consultation with Laura and Gina.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
