By: Jennifer Potash
A hearing on Princeton University’s plans to demolish two former houses used as apartment buildings in favor of a new three-story academic building was postponed until next month.
On Thursday, the university requested the Princeton Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment delay the hearing on the application to March 24.
The postponement will give the university more time to review its plans based on concerns from property owners surrounding the site, according to a letter from James Britt, the attorney representing the university.
The application by Princeton University is to consolidate three lots into a single lot on Olden Avenue, demolish two existing multifamily dwellings and replace them with a three-story, 27,000-square-foot academic building for the School of Engineering.
The university also plans to create a small open space at the corner of Olden and William streets that will include landscaping and benches. The properties are located in the RO-1 and R4 zoning districts and would need variances for floor-area ratio and lot coverage.
The application was before the zoning board in December but was postponed until January because the meeting ran late. Some local affordable-housing advocates object to the loss of the multifamily houses, which have been vacant since the university purchased them in 1999.
University officials said the structures are beyond repair.

