Garage price details still eluding borough

Disclosure of financial details not expected until second week of November.

By: Jennifer Potash
   Financial details for the proposed downtown Princeton Borough garage will not be released until the second week of November.
   The developer’s agreement between Nassau HKT Associates and the borough is still in negotiation and the guaranteed maximum price for the garage is not ready, Mayor Marvin Reed said Monday.
   Based on the project timeline, the figures should have been released to the public this month. After a month’s review, the council would have voted on whether to proceed with the project.
   Mayor Reed said the public still will have the same amount of time to comment on the financial data and a council vote will be scheduled no sooner than the second week of December.
   The developer is providing the borough with two garage alternatives — one with more underground parking, which could cost at least $1 million more than the second alternative with less below-surface space, according to the mayor.
   Some design changes, such as reorganizing the spaces to reduce the amount of underground parking, delayed the cost estimates, Mayor Reed said.
   The developer would build the project for the borough and charge no more than the negotiated guaranteed maximum price. Nassau HKT would share the savings with the borough if it is built for less than that amount.
   The borough’s portion of the project includes the six-level, 500-space parking garage, plaza and new walkway, all of which the municipality would own. The developer would build two mixed-use buildings — slated to house a combined 77 apartments, small retail stores, a restaurant and a food market — and own those buildings. The municipally owned land would be leased to the developer for a 99-year term.
   Preliminary designs for the parking garage included a cost estimate of $9.45 million. The plaza and new walkways are estimated at $1.3 million.