Princeton Future’s plan identifies five zones within the borough for study, and calls for planning that incorporates the group’s seven overall principles while addressing the unique needs and issues of each neighborhood.
View Princeton Future’s "Plan for Downtown and its Neighbors" as a PDF (16 pages, 867kb)
By: Jennifer Potash
Princeton Future, the nonprofit volunteer planning group, will present its vision for future development in downtown Princeton Borough at the Princeton Regional Planning Board on Thursday.
The Planning Board will discuss a downtown master plan devised by Princeton Future, a group that promotes a holistic approach to downtown planning. Princeton Future would like the downtown master plan incorporated into the larger Princeton Community Master Plan.
The Planning Board is not expected to amend the Princeton Community Master Plan at Thursday’s meeting. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the main meeting room in Princeton Township Hall.
Princeton Future’s proposed plan identifies five zones within the borough for study, and calls for planning that incorporates the group’s seven overall principles while addressing the unique needs and issues of each neighborhood.
Those general principles are:
Preserving the character of the neighborhoods;
Maintaining the scale and density of the downtown;
Requiring new buildings to have retail use on the ground floor and residential above;
Including affordable units in every project;
Connecting neighborhoods and the downtown with more walking and bike paths;
Preserving racial and economic diversity; and
Increasing revenues to the borough.
The plan was drafted by Robert Brown, an urban planner and architect and principal of the Philadelphia firm Brown Keener Urban Design. Mr. Brown said the plan was truly created by the citizenry over the course of two years during 100 neighborhood and town meetings.
Following the format of the Princeton Community Master Plan, the Princeton Future plan suggests changes or, in some cases, endorses the status quo, depending on the particular zone.
For Zone Five, the neighborhoods along Nassau Street between Washington Road and Harrison Street, the blend of small two- and three-story mixed-use buildings and residences should be retained, according to the plan.
A copy of Princeton Future’s draft plan is available for inspection at the Princeton Regional Planning Office, Princeton Township Hall.

