Concern expressed over demand from 77 rental apartments.
By: Jennifer Potash
While some opponents to the Princeton Borough’s downtown garage development claim the project is too massive, others are now arguing the project has too few parking spaces.
Among the arguments against the proposed downtown parking garage is that the 500-space structure would be at least 100 spaces short.
Opponents of the plan, as well as some supporters, worry that an insufficient number of parking spaces was included for the 77 rental apartments in two mixed-use buildings.
The development proposal by Nassau HKT Associates contains, in addition to the garage, a five-story building with a restaurant and small retail shops on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floors as well as a plaza on the former Park & Shop parking lot. Another five-story building, housing a food market on the ground floor and apartments on the other floors, is planned for the Tulane Street parking lot. The borough would own the land, garage and plaza with the developer owning the two mixed-use buildings.
The apartments will have 45 parking spaces allotted, but not assigned, in the garage, said Princeton Borough Zoning Officer Frank Slimak. The number of parking spaces is based on the size of each apartment and the number of habitable rooms, such as bedrooms and living rooms, in each unit, Mr. Slimak said.
Henry Landau, co-owner of Landau’s, a woolen goods store on Nassau Street, said the borough should use a more conservative figure of at least one parking space per unit, or at least 77 spaces.
Mr. Landau supports a citizen-suggested development plan that includes a 375-space parking deck as well as a plaza, but retains the present Tulane Street surface lot. He said the alternate plan better meets the needs of the downtown businesses and institutions such as the Princeton Public Library.
Borough officials and developer Nassau HKT Associates have said not every apartment resident will have a car, with many relying on public transit.
Councilwoman Wendy Benchley, a staunch supporter of the garage development, expressed some reservations last week that the parking allocations for the apartments were enough to meet demand.
"I’ve brought this up a couple of times," she said at a Jan. 7 Borough Council meeting. "I think our consultants underestimated the cars that may be required."
Councilman David Goldfarb said the borough is confident it has the right number of spaces for the apartment residents.
"The garage will operate on a first-come, first-serve basis with respect to monthly permit parking and hourly parking," Mr. Goldfarb said.
There should be plenty of space to accommodate restaurant-goers and shoppers as the apartment dwellers will likely take their cars out of the garage during the day and return at night, he said.
And adding another level would make the building visible from Witherspoon Street, thus defeating the screening purpose of the five-story mixed-use building, he said.
Mr. Goldfarb said there is no will on the council to expand the garage.
The council is slated to vote on an agreement with the developer Jan. 21.

