Planning Board Mulls Request for Higher Density

Tonight the company that hopes to redevelop the hospital site on Witherspoon Street will appear before the Princeton Regional Planning Board to request zoning changes that would increase the allowable density.

Approved zoning allows 280 units, with 20 percent being designated affordable. The developer, AvalonBay Communities, is under contract to buy the hospital site and hopes to demolish the seven-story, 500,000-square foot building and build rental apartments.

The company wants to increase the number of units from 280 to 324 without a corresponding increase in affordable units.  

That would leave 56 affordable units, or 17.3 of the total project. Princeton zoning requires 20 percent be affordable.

AvalonBay is willing build the extra nine units as workforce housing, which could rent to households earning roughly $41,000 to $98,000 year, perhaps even those with a “Princeton preference,” including local volunteer firefighters and rescue workers.

The Princeton Borough’s attorney has said that a “Princeton preference” would require extensive analysis and may invite a lawsuit

Ron Ladell, senior vice president at AvalonBay, who has appeared before Borough Council to discuss this project several times, said last week that New Jersey state law only mandates 15 percent of rental units be affordable.

“We disagree with the argument that some are arguing that we’re doing less than what’s required,” said Ladell, who has been meeting individually with local reporters over the past week to discuss AvalonBay’s plans in Princeton. “We’re doing more than what’s required under state law and doing more than any private developer has done (in Princeton) in 20 years.”

He understands residents’ frustration about the hospital’s move out of town next month, but believes AvalonBay’s proposal will be “tremendously beneficial” to Princeton.

He said the project would reduce the hospital’s current building footprint by 30 percent, reduce the building height by four stories and exceed the open space requirement along Witherspoon Street by 30 percent.

AvalonBay plans to rent its market rate units- which includes studio to three bedroom apartments- for between $1,600 to $3,200 per month.

Ladell hopes the Planning Board will endorse the requested changes, which would then send the proposal back to Borough Council for a vote on April 24. Ladell said he wants to work quickly to bring the project to fruition.

Asbestos remediation and building demolition could take up to 10 months, followed by another 14-16 months before the first unit could be rented.

“The earlier we start, the better off we’ll be,” Ladell said, adding that if the increased density is rejected, he’s not sure how the company would proceed because it may not be financially feasible to build 20 percent affordable units.

But he’s hopeful about the outcome.

“I think there are many people in Princeton who are passionate about affordable housing and environmental sustainability and we will do whatever is practicable to meet those expectations, however, sometimes those with loudest voices have more myopic interests at heart,” Ladell said. “What we have found so far when it comes to Borough Council, Princeton Environmental Commission Site Plan Review Advisory Board and planning staff is that all of those people seem to have the greater good of Princeton at heart and seem to understand the challenges that any private developer would face in trying to meet the wishes of any diverse group.”