2 Days Set Aside To Hear Hornor House Application In Princeton

PRINCETON, NJ — Expecting large crowds and a long line of people waiting to speak, the Municipality’s Historic Preservation Commission has set aside two days to hear the development application for Hornor House.

Located in the northeast corner of the 18th Century Jugtown village at the Nassau and Harrison Streets crossroads, the house was listed among 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in the state by Preservation New Jersey.

Developers have proposed to partially demolish the rear portion of the existing structure to construct a four-story addition to the building for 15 apartments.

The house was built in the 1760s by Joseph Hornor, the grandson of one of Princeton's Quaker founders.

The two-story, brick, side-hall house originally had a one-story kitchen wing. In the early 20th century, a second story was added on top of the wing.

The developer has proposed interior modifications in the portion of the existing building that will remain to provide three separate office or commercial uses on the ground floor and two residential units on the second floor.

In total, the structure will contain 15 apartments, three of which will be for affordable housing, and 1,795 square feet of office space.

The ground floor space located behind the office space contains a building lobby, trash room, and utility/bike storage room.

A four-story, 20,000 square feet addition of 15 apartments, built partially on top of it, will overwhelm it physically and visually in conflict with the Historic Preservation Ordinance and National Park Service Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties, according to the SAVE Jugtown Coalition.

The group said that the proposed addition would overwhelm the historic Jugtown crossroads and set a negative precedent for future development in the Jugtown Historic District and in other historic districts in Princeton and elsewhere.

Those who miss the Monday meeting can attend on Tuesday. The Historic Preservation Commission can either accept or reject the application. And then it is scheduled to be heard by the planning board on May 23.

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