Group hopes a modified expansion plan for its Witherspoon Street location will win approval.
By: Jennifer Potash
The Arts Council of Princeton has decided it does not want to move from its downtown site at 102 Witherspoon St. and hopes a modified expansion plan can get local approval.
The organization announced its intentions Wednesday, at a meeting of the Princeton Borough Council, to return to the Regional Planning Board of Princeton.
"The board decided that we should re-examine, amend and review our application for the present site, notwithstanding the risk of being rejected once again, and the fact that if we are successful, we will have to raise at the minimum an additional $2 million to finish the job," said Suzanne Goldenson, president of the Board of Trustees.
The original expansion plan was estimated at $3.5 million but that cost has escalated to about $6.5 million, she said.
The Arts Council has raised about $3.8 million for the expansion thus far.
The Planning Board voted 6-5 in December to reject The Arts Council’s expansion application following lengthy public hearings and testimony from neighbors in the John-Witherspoon neighborhood opposing the project. The rejected expansion plan called for an 11,000-square-foot addition, which would have more than doubled the current space.
The designs, by renowned architect Michael Graves, will be revised including a reduction of the building’s mass, said Ms. Goldenson.
The trustees of The Arts Council considered relocating to a building on Lucent Technologies property on Carter Road in Hopewell Township. Also, a Princeton Shopping Center site was once under consideration.
Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed urged The Arts Council to work with Borough Engineer Carl Peters before the plans are submitted to ensure that technical problems are solved before the designs reach the Planning Board.
Councilman Roger Martindell suggested The Arts Council seek a resolution from the council to the Planning Board, stating the project is desirable for the community. Ms. Goldenson indicated the group would do that.
Council members David Goldfarb and Wendy Benchley said they were pleased the organization would stay downtown. Ms. Benchley, who serves on the Planning Board, voted against the application in December.
Once the revised plans are completed, Ms. Goldenson said, The Arts Council will invite the John-Witherspoon residents to offer feedback and suggestions.
Yina Moore, a resident of Green Street, which bounds the building, said she would reserve comment on the development until the new plans are revealed.
"The relationship is not just the mass (of the building) but also the amount of programs, which also has an impact on the neighborhood," she said.
Ms. Moore is a member of the Planning Board, but has recused herself from the board’s deliberations on The Arts Council application.
Princeton Future, the nonprofit organization seeking to shape the redevelopment of the downtown, has opposed the expansion plans at the 102 Witherspoon St. and encouraged the project relocation to other downtown sites including the Palmer Square-owned Hulfish North.
Both Ms. Goldenson and Arts Council Executive Director Anne Reeves said the organization will reach out to Princeton Future for support of the application.
While it’s too soon to say how the plans will be revised, Ms. Goldenson said, the design will keep a performance theater. But the 200-seat theater included in the original plans may be reduced, she said.
Should The Arts Council’s plans be rejected again, the organization may move elsewhere in the borough or Princeton Township, Ms. Goldenson said.
But Ms. Reeves said she is "very hopeful" The Arts Council would be successful this time.
No date has been set for The Arts Council to return to the Planning Board. Ms. Goldenson said she anticipated having more information about the revised plans by late October.
Once requested by The Arts Council, the Subdivision Committee of the Planning Board will consider another review of an application if "substantive changes" are made, according to Peter Bienstock, an Arts Counciltrustee.
Princeton Regional PlanningDirector Lee Solow has said The Arts Council had until mid-September to resubmit the plans to the Subdivision Committee. If The Arts Council misses that deadline, it could file a new application and request a rehearing from the Planning Board, Mr. Solow has said.
The Arts Council has requested an extension of the deadline and is working with the Planning Board on a new schedule, Ms. Goldenson said.

