Princeton Officials Negotiating With AvalonBay

A deal may be in the works between Princeton and AvalonBay, just weeks after the developer filed suit against the town for denying housing proposal for the former hospital site. 

Princeton hasn't endorsed any specific plan, but discussions are continuing. 

"Right now, the lawyers are working on negotiating a suspension of the lawsuit and the restart of a public process that would involve having Avalon present their new plans to SPRAB, the Environmental Commission and the Planning Board," according to Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert. 

AvalonBay hopes to build 280 apartments at the former hospital site on Witherspoon Street. Fifty-six of the units would be designated as affordable housing, meeting the Princeton's required 20 percent set aside.

But objectors packed planning board meetings to argue against a design plan that they claimed was essentially a gated community and a giant structure in the middle of a residential neighborhood. 

Ultimately, the planning board in December decided that AvalonBay failed to meet Princeton's design standards and did not adequately connect the project to the surrounding neighborhood. 

Lempert said Wednesday that said a senior vice president at AvalonBay approached her several weeks ago and a small group of officials has been meeting with the company, which has put together plans that could work for both Princeton and the developer. 

"Avalon has shown that they have finally heard our concerns over the design," Lempert said. 

Avalon has presented a series of preliminary plans to solicit informal feedback, Lempert said. Specifically, some of the changes include:

"They've addressed the concerns about a gated community and lack of permeability by adding a road with sidewalks that bisects the site," Lempert said. "They've increased the number of buildings, they've agreed to lower building heights along the perimeter and increase heights towards the center of the site. They're exploring ways to redesign the facades of the buildings to better break up the massing. They've moved a significant portion of the open space from the interior of the site to the exterior by dramatically shrinking the swimming pool and inner courtyard. And they've committed to green building."

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