Borough, Palmer Square reach accord

Settlement on Hulfish North follows years of negotiations.

By: Jennifer Potash
   After an impasse lasting more than a decade, Princeton Borough and Palmer Square management reached a settlement Thursday permitting construction of 97 to 100 luxury townhouses at Hulfish North.
   The Princeton Borough Council will discuss the proposed settlement tonight.
   Key points in the settlement include Palmer Square contributing 10 low- and moderate-income level housing units, committing to complete the project within five years and spending over $300,000 for municipal fees and off-site improvements.
   The borough will support Palmer Square’s application at the Princeton Regional Planing Board to increase the development by 5,000 square feet, or an additional three townhouses, for a total of 100 units.
   Reaching a resolution on the Hulfish North property, located off Paul Robeson Place between Chambers and Witherspoon streets, was the last bit of unfinished business for Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed, who will leave office after 13 years next week.
   "Yes, it is a relief," Mayor Reed said Monday about closing the deal.
   If the settlement is approved and the development built, it will generate at least $60 million in new tax ratables for the borough and eliminate the eyesore of an uncovered parking garage facing Paul Robeson Place, Mayor Reed said.
   The Princeton Regional Planning Board approved Palmer Square’s Hulfish North development for 97 townhouses in 1990.
   Despite various fits and starts over the years to move the project forward, every attempt ended in stalemate.
   The affordable-housing contribution was the central issue of dispute between the borough and Palmer Square. The borough held that Palmer Square must set aside 20 percent of the total new units for affordable housing or make an equivalent in-lieu-of-cash payment. Palmer Square contended its obligation was a $57,000 affordable-housing contribution stemming from the 1990 approval.
   By 2002, Palmer Square hired attorney Henry Hill, of the West Windsor-based firm Hill Wallack, to provide legal representation in the matter. Mr. Hill represented Toll Brothers in a bitter dispute with West Windsor Township over the 1,165-unit Estates at Princeton Junction development.
   The disagreement intensified in 2002 after the borough denied Palmer Square’s request for a foundation permit for the 97 townhouses. Palmer Square then threatened legal action.
   Talks continued intermittently through 2003. Mayor Reed, fresh from pushing through the borough’s downtown redevelopment project, wanted to wrap up the Hulfish North issues as well.
   He asked the council for permission to directly negotiate with Palmer Square.
   "This has been with me for my 13 years as mayor," he said. "I think the people on both sides recognized that a lot of institutional memory was in my head and they didn’t want to start from the beginning."
   Instead of relying on lawyers or a mediator, Mayor Reed, joined by Mayor-elect Joseph O’Neill, met directly with Palmer Square’s principal partner, Oded Aboodi, and his son.
   "We decided we didn’t want to pay a mediator a lot of money for telling us what we all knew needed to be done," Mayor Reed said.
   Mr. O’Neill said both sides "got something and gave something up" in the negotiations.
   "It’s nice Marv can take the credit for this after sweating through three years of negotiations," Mr. O’Neill said.
   What the borough got out of the deal was the 10 affordable-housing units to be spread throughout Palmer Square’s existing units and the new ones on Hulfish Street, Mr. O’Neill said. The units will be deed-restricted for 20 years — a compromise, since the borough sought a longer term, Mr. O’Neill said.
   The majority of the council supports the settlement, Mayor Reed said.
   The council is expected to hold a public hearing on the settlement Jan. 13.
   One council member who indicated he may not support the settlement is Roger Martindell, who sent his colleagues an eight-page memo filled with questions and concerns about a draft version.
   Mr. Martindell said he had concerns with three clauses in the document.
   The first is a provision that allows Palmer Square to revoke deed restrictions on affordable-housing units if the borough does not strictly meet its obligations, Mr. Martindell said.
   The second is a provision that the borough will defend the settlement against any claim brought against Palmer Square related to the development, which Mr. Martindell said is too broad. A citizens’ group could challenge Palmer Square’s development but not the borough’s affordable-housing policy, Mr. Martindell said.
   "The borough should not become the guarantor for Palmer Square against claims of disgruntled citizens who may not like the plans insofar as concerns issues in which the borough has no direct stake," Mr. Martindell said. "For example, I don’t intend my tax dollars to defend Palmer Square, a multimillion-dollar corporation, against complaints about landscaping, do you?"
   The third potential deal-breaker for Mr. Martindell is the five-year completion clause. The settlement requires Palmer Square to finish the townhouses five years following the issuance of the first building permit. Mr. Martindell said the settlement contains too many exemptions that could extend the project for years.
   Palmer Square must still obtain approvals from the borough, the Planning Board and the state Department of Community Affairs, Mayor Reed said. The development is expected to be built all at once, he said.
   Erin Szejner, director of marketing for Palmer Square, said the company had no comment on the settlement. Mr. Aboodi and Palmer Square Vice President David Newton were unavailable for comment due to travel schedules and vacation plans, Ms. Szejner said.