AvalonBay Presents Revised Plans for Redevelopment of Princeton Site

AvalonBay returned to the Princeton Planning Board on Thursday, with a revised development plan for the former hospital site on Witherspoon Street.

This time, the developer has attempted to alleviate residents' concerns about a gated community, issues of permeability, number of buildings and building heights. 

“When we first came back in February with a new concept, it was in response to what we heard from community, Jon Vogel, AvalonBay's vice president of development for New York and New Jersey, told planning board members. And there still continuing modifications, based on feedback from the Princeton Environmental Commission and the Site Plan Review Advisory Board.

There are still those who object to the plan, specifically members of the grassroots citizens’ organization Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods and members of SEIUJ, the service workers union.

Bill Bennett tried to speak on behalf of the union on Thursday. The developer’s attorney objected multiple times, but planning board members ultimately decided they wanted to hear what he had to say.

Bennett told the board the union wants a public safety monitor on the Princeton site, saying the developer has a poor track record when it comes to fire safety. He specifically noted a blaze in Edgewater that the Princeton developer. He described an Avalon project in Edgewater that burned down 2000.

“”Unfortunately, in the years since that catastrophic blaze, AvalonBay has been cited for lax fire protection,” Bennett said.

Planning Board Attorney Jerry Mueller allowed Bennett to speak for three minutes, but ultimately advised the board that the testimony was irrelevant. Concerns could be addressed to the municipal construction department after any approval, Mueller said.

AvalonBay hopes to raze the now-vacant hospital building and construct 280 apartments- of which 56 affordable would be affordable units. The average size of the apartments will be less than 1,000 square feet.

The proposal is to build 24 studios, 104 one-bedroom apartments, 120 two-bedroom apartments and 30 three-bedroom apartments.

Instead of one large building, AvalonBay now proposes five buildings throughout the site. Building heights (ranging from two to five stories) would be lowest at the site perimeter; higher buildings will be towards the center of the site. Three townhouse buildings (with stoops and porches) would line Franklin Street. An alley behind the townhouses would provide access to the townhouse garages. The largest building is next to the main parking garage on Henry Avenue, but is separated from the garage by a garden walk. The only private courtyard (125 x 150 ft.) inside the largest building would contain an on-site swimming pool (1,200 square feet).

Affordable housing units would be located throughout the two largest buildings. The swimming pool is smaller than in the previous plan, Vogel said. 

The development would be Energy Star certified and comply with silver level LEED standards.

A public road will run through the property, connecting Franklin Street and Henry Avenue. A public park at the corner of Witherspoon and Franklin is larger than the previous plan. 

AvalonBay's proposal requires variances for a sign and for building setbacks.

The planning board rejected AvalonBay’s first plan in December. The board cited the developer's failure to meet Princeton's design standards and said failure to connect the project to the surrounding neighborhood. 

AvalonBay filed suit against the town and the planning board. But Princeton and AvalonBay officials been quietly meeting, hoping to find an out-of-court compromise. The result is the new plan now under review.

The next meeting to discuss the project is scheduled for July 11.