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," said Jon Vogel, AvalonBay's vice president of development for New York and New Jersey. He said AvalonBay continues to make modifications, based on feedback from the Princeton Environmental Commission and the Site Plan Review Advisory Board.

There are those who object to the revised plan, specifically members of the grassroots citizens’ organization Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods and members of 32BJ SEIU, a property service workers union.

The groups scheduled a rally outside of the municipal building before Thursday's meeting. 

Union employee Bill Bennett then tried to address Planning Board members at the end of Thursday's hearing. AvalonBay's attorney objected multiple times, but Board members ultimately decided they wanted to hear what Bennett had to say.

Bennett told the board he wants a public safety monitor on the AvalonPrinceton construction site. He said the developer has a poor track record when it comes to fire safety. He said a 2000 blaze in Edgewater, NJ not only destroyed the Avalon project under construction but also destroyed or damaged nearly a dozen nearby single family homes. 

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

Planning Board Attorney Gerald Muller allowed Bennett to speak for three minutes, but ultimately advised the board that the testimony was irrelevant. Concerns about fire safety should be addressed to the municipal construction department after any approval, Muller 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.