$1.2 million project is still several months from completion.
By: Jennifer Potash
While the downtown plaza is still several months from completion, the Princeton Borough Council on Monday approved the equipment and furnishings that will be installed there, the remaining details for the public space that will be bordered by the new library and a mixed-use building now under construction.
But the council put the brakes on a proposal for a certain style of bike rack in the plaza, citing concerns about cost and aesthetics.
The yet-to-be-named plaza is part of the borough’s $13.7 million downtown redevelopment project, which includes the new 500-space parking garage. The plaza is expected to cost $1.2 million.
The Plaza Art Committee recommended designs for tables, benches, chairs, planters, trash receptacles and bike racks, said Borough Councilwoman Wendy Benchley, the council’s liaison to the committee.
All of the proposals, including custom-made, atom-shaped tree grates, have come in under budget at around $85,000, Ms. Benchley said. The plaza budget is $106,200, which includes a $4,000 contingency.
The plaza furnishings are not custom-made. For example the metal tables and chairs were selected from Smith and Hawken, said Ms. Benchley. Also, the project’s landscape architect, Donald Hilderbrandt, and developer, Robert Powell, approved the selections.
The wooden benches proposed for the plaza are similar to those outside Borough Hall, she said.
Councilman Roger Martindell asked about provisions to prevent theft of the tables and chairs.
Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said the administration looked into the question and found public furniture tends not to be the target of thieves.
"So that is where the trend is and let’s hope Princeton isn’t going to buck the trend," he said.
One change from previous plans was the cost of the custom tree grates, now $58,000, Ms. Benchley said. The budget previously listed $36,000 for the cast-iron, atom-shaped tree grates, designed by West Windsor sculptor Francois Guillemin, also known as Le Corbeu, she said. But that estimate did not include protective powder coating, shipping and installation, she said.
Several council members raised concerns about the proposed bollards for up to 50 bicycles, to be clustered around the plaza. The plans call for 25 of the bollards, which hold two bikes apiece, for a total cost of $8,875.
Councilman David Goldfarb said bicycles should be parked inside the parking garage and at the rear of the library on less expensive metal U-shaped racks.
Ms. Benchley said the Plaza Art Committee followed the specification of the plaza plans that called for racks for 50 bikes. She suggested the committee discuss the issue with borough cyclists before amending the plans.
Mr. Goldfarb, an avid cyclist, disagreed somewhat with seeking the opinion of bike riders.
"I am a borough bicyclist and I am the Borough Council member in charge of spending the borough’s money," he said.
Ms. Benchley said the bollards were the recommendation of the plaza’s designers.
The council will review a map of the bicycle placement plan before authorizing funds for the bike racks.
The original budget for the plaza furnishings was $102,200 but that amount was later deemed insufficient to cover those items plus a bus shelter on Witherspoon Street near the plaza.
Princeton University donated $150,000 for the plaza furnishings and the bus shelter, estimated at $13,000, earlier this year. The unspent $30,800 from the university’s gift remains in surplus and some council members have suggested these funds could pay for replacement furnishings in the future.
The Borough Council plans to return the original $102,200 back to the overall plaza budget.
In other business Monday night, the council was expected to vote on several bond ordinances totaling $1.2 million for parking meters and other parking-related equipment, sewer repairs, intersection improvement at Witherspoon and Wiggins streets and the purchase of an affordable housing unit on Maclean Street but did not reach that portion of the agenda by The Packet’s press time.