Consulting firm to move to first floor of historic Nassau Street building.
By: Jennifer Potash
A case before the Princeton Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment on Thursday revealed some difficulties with a zoning ordinance restricting ground-level space for retail use in the central business district.
The Gund Investment Corp. sought approval for Clinical Professionals of Princeton, a consulting firm, to move into the ground-floor space at 14 Nassau St., located at the corner of Bank Street.
The board finally decided to grant a use variance to Clinical Professionals to use the space in light of how the historic building is inappropriate for retail use. The vote was 5-1.
Before hearing the use variance request, the zoners rejected Gund Investment Corp.’s appeal of a determination by Zoning Officer Frank Slimak that the new proposed use was not grandfathered under a borough ordinance restricting ground-floor space to retail or restaurant use.
Mr. Slimak called the building a "jewel" in the downtown and praised the Gund Corp. for its dedication to the historic preservation of the building and the surrounding Bank Street neighborhood. The company owns the building and occupies upper floor space.
But the 1988 borough ordinance prohibiting ground-floor office use does not give the zoning office much guidance in making these determinations and creates difficulty categorizing businesses, he said.
He asked the board to request the Princeton Borough Council revise the ordinance.
Clinical Professionals of Princeton is a medical consulting business now located in Forrestal Village in Plainsboro. The firm, with five full-time employees, provides support for pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials, said Eric Richardson, managing director. Business is conducted mostly by teleconferences and off-site meetings, Mr. Richardson said.
Built in 1896, the Dutch colonial building housed Princeton Bank & Trust Co. until 1965 and subsequent tenants including an insurance company and financial services company, said Jeremiah Ford III, an architect, planner and founding partner of Ford, Farewell, Mills and Gatsch Architects in West Windsor, who is representing the Gund firm. Gordon Gund, the investor and principal owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, bought the building in 1969.
The building has very unique characteristics that make it particularly unsuitable for retail or higher-density commercial use, Mr. Ford said. The windows are about 6 feet above the sidewalk and the entrance has three exterior steps and an additional four steps inside the building leading up to the office space, he said.
"This building is very unique," he said.
Converting the building to retail use would require vast changes to the exterior to bring the site up to building codes and accessibility requirements for the handicapped, Mr. Ford said.
The building was recently renovated with new utilities, heating and telecommunication connections, said Noreen Coutin, director of administration of Gund Investment Corp.
Zoning board member Kenneth Kehrer objected to Clinical Professional as a tenant, noting the prior tenants, although commercial businesses, were somewhat retail in nature and encouraged customers to come to the west end of Nassau Street to other businesses and shops. "It fertilized the area with foot traffic," Mr. Kehrer said.
He voted to deny the use variance.
Ms. Coutin said for security and building maintenance reasons, Gund wants a low-traffic tenant.
Zoning board member Steven Cohen voiced concerns about ground-floor offices beginning to creep up Nassau Street toward Palmer Square. But the unique qualities of the building make the site more suitable for office than retail use, he said.
Zoning board Chairman Barrie Royce said this application did not amount to the loss of a retail space for office use.
The use variance only runs with Clinical Professionals’ tenancy not with the building.

