On the Princeton Agenda: An Important First Step for 238 Apartments on Stockton at Hibben

Princeton, NJ – An important first step toward the development of a multi-family apartment complex at the former Princeton Theological Seminary property on Stockton Street at Hibben Road will take place Monday, July 8, when Princeton Council is expected to introduce an ordinance to adopt a redevelopment plan for the property. The plan calls for 238 units on the site, with 20 percent set aside as affordable units.

The plan also calls for up to two single-family detached houses to be located on the lot where the existing house at 92 Stockton Street is located. The maximum height of the new buildings would be set at 56 feet.

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The ordinance will be introduced but not discussed on July 8. The public hearing with public comment and discussion will be held two weeks later, at the Council meeting on July 22. Most likely the vote to adopt the ordinance will also be held on July 22. Once the redevelopment plan is adopted, the municipality must strike a redevelopment agreement with the owner of the property, in this case the Witherspoon Street-based developer, Herring Properties.

A cursory look at the proposed redevelopment plan shows that it resembles the concept plan presented by Jamie Herring and his architects at a public meeting last October 17 at 400 Witherspoon Street. The details of the redevelopment plan, which can be viewed in the packet of materials for the July 8 meeting, beginning on page 81, call for some expensive items, which may lead the town to offer some sort of tax incentives to the developer.

For example, maximum building coverage within the redevelopment plan area will be 50 percent, and the project must include “two generously proportioned open spaces” of at least 12,500 square feet to “improve and preserve the viewshed from Route 206/Stockton Street and enhance this important gateway to downtown.” These requirements are most likely dictating that much of the parking be located underground – a costly choice.

The 41-page plan, written by James T. Kyle of Kyle McManus Associates in Hopewell, also says that “in addition to the viewshed open space areas described above, open space shall be provided along the east side of Hibben Road and be framed by proposed buildings to form a central green. Such open space should have at least 140 feet of frontage along Hibben Road and a depth of at least 90 feet. This required open space area shall include pedestrian pathways connecting to the sidewalk along Hibben Road and must be attractively landscaped and include seating areas. Subsurface stormwater management facilities may be constructed in this required open space area.

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“Areas around buildings shall be attractively landscaped with lawn areas, shade trees, accent plantings, and walking paths. Larger open space areas should be enhanced with features such as decorative paving, gazebos or other shade structures and fixed and/or moveable seating to serve as passive open space sitting areas. Spaces farther from Stockton Street may be designed more for building residents but should not be gated off from the surroundings; spaces closer to Stockton Street should have a more inviting design.”

The original concept plans calling for more than 200 units of housing for the site generated opposition among neighbors, who formed a group called the Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development (PCRD). At one of their meetings, they showed how the site might be developed with fewer than 50 units of housing – but even that number felt like “a big lift” to some of the neighbors.

The PCRD, led by former Council member Jo Butler, a Hibben Road resident, has continued its opposition to various developments around town. Most recently it filed a suit against the Mayor and Council and the Planning Board for the way in which it approved the new Community Master Plan. A substantial portion of that complaint centered not on the Master Plan but rather on the town’s designation of the Seminary property as an area in need of redevelopment. A judge has already thrown out the suit as it relates to the Mayor and Council. But the lawsuit remains in place against the Planning Board.

Perhaps mindful of the opposition of some neighbors, the Redevelopment Plan lists as a goal of the project “an appropriate and graceful transition to neighboring residences through appropriate setbacks, inset of upper floors, variation in building massing, accentuating human scale elements, employing appropriate architectural styles and materials, creating parks and sitting areas for residents of the project and the surrounding neighborhood, and providing appropriate buffering along the perimeter of the Plan Area.”

The redevelopment plan states that “balconies are permitted for upper-level residential units, but not where the balcony would directly face an existing single-family home that directly abuts the redevelopment plan area.”

The plan’s goals also include enhancing “the viewshed along Stockton Street, one of several important gateways to the downtown;” improving visibility and enhancing “safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians along Stockton Street, Edgehill Street, and Hibben Road; and providing “enhanced on-site stormwater management through the use of green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff volume flowing to adjacent properties.”

All those goals could be seen as more costly items, which the developer could cite as the basis for gaining tax incentives from the town.

While the neighbors get some attention, the overall goals of the plan clearly seem to be community-wide. Among them:

• Utilize smart-growth principles to achieve better planning outcomes for the community.

• Provide higher density, compact development in close proximity to downtown and transit to reduce auto dependence and support greenhouse gas reductions consistent with the Princeton Climate Action Plan.

• Provide a new opportunity for multi-family residential development within walking distance of downtown and the Princeton University campus.

• Increase the supply of affordable housing on the west side of downtown.

• Create a cohesive development plan with a unified network of outdoor spaces and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes.

• Promote high-quality design for new multi-family structures as well as outdoor spaces.

• Provide opportunity for an enhanced tax ratable that will benefit the larger Princeton community.

Whatever tax arrangement is finally struck with the developer, it will almost surely be a better tax ratable than what used to occupy the site – tax-exempt buildings owned by the nonprofit Princeton Theological Seminary.

Below are details of upcoming events on the municipal calendar. Zoom links to meetings are included when available as of Sunday, July 7. Check the municipal calendar for more recent information regarding access via Zoom.

Monday, July 8

7 p.m. Princeton Council, in person at 400 Witherspoon Street, and via Zoom .

Click here to access agenda and packet materials.

Tuesday, July 9

7 p.m.: Environmental Commission, special meeting via Zoom .

The agenda includes a presentation by Steve Hiltner on the use of containers for leaves and brush.

7:30 to 9 p.m.: Board of Health, via Zoom.

Wednesday, July 10

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Leighton Listens, Le Kiosk, 255 Nassau Street (across from Small World Coffee, next to 7-11). Informal meet-up with Princeton Council member Leighton Newlin.

6 to 7 p.m.: Princeton Public Schools Equity Committee, via Zoom.

7 p.m.: Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee, via Zoom.

Thursday, July 11

7 p.m.: Princeton Planning Board, via Zoom .

Two applications are on the agenda.

Anthony Vasselli seeks approval for a minor site plan with variance relief at 299 Witherspoon Street to adaptively reuse an existing mixed-use building and add two additional residential units in a rear structure.

Also, Morayinko and Marlen Ayodele’s request for a minor subdivision and site plan with variances at 469 Ewing Street will be continued from the April 11 meeting. Since that meeting, the applicant has submitted revised plans that have reduced the number of variances requested. The proposal calls for subdividing a large lot with a single family home and replacing it with one main house and one accessory dwelling unit on each of the two new lots.

Friday, July 12

10 a.m. to Noon: Flood and Storm Water Commission, via Zoom.

11 a.m.: Princeton Public Schools Student Achievement Committee,

Monday, July 15

Recycling Day

4 p.m.: Historic Preservation Commission, in person, Municipal Building, 400 Witherspoon Street.

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