New Jersey Future to grant smart growth award.
By: Rachel Silverman
Princeton Borough’s downtown redevelopment project which, when complete, will include retail shops, apartments, a parking garage, a plaza and a food market will be honored at a New Jersey Future awards ceremony May 4.
The ceremony is a public-recognition service meant to applaud smart-growth activity in the state. It will take place at the Newark Club in Newark and will recognize eight development projects, all of which are working toward the goal of healthy growth and future prosperity within the state.
"Smart growth is being realized throughout New Jersey as redevelopment projects reclaim our once-abandoned and underutilized areas and relieve pressure to develop our remaining open spaces," awards-selection committee member Joseph J. Maraziti Jr. said.
"The winners of these awards provide excellent real world examples of the type of creativity, perseverance and leadership that will inspire other communities in New Jersey to provide more housing choices, protect our environment and revitalize downtowns in our cities and older suburbs," he continued.
The Princeton project, which represents a collaboration among Princeton Borough, Princeton Future, Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Princeton University and Nassau HKT Associates, aimed to transform two downtown surface parking lots into a vital community hub.
The nearly complete, five-story Witherspoon House will contain 24 apartments, the Witherspoon Grill restaurant and a larger space for Rouge, the trendy women’s clothing and cosmetics boutique.
A second five-story building on the Tulane Street lot will house a food market and 53 apartments.
The borough’s $14.8 million, 500-space parking garage, which opened in May, gives Princeton residents somewhere to leave their cars while they grab a quick bite to eat or run an errand in town.
And for those who’d rather enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee or newspaper outside, a bench- and tree- filled plaza is nearing completion between the Witherspoon House and the Princeton Public Library.
According to Borough Mayor Joseph O’Neill, the development process has been a highly collaborative and effective one.
"The community-outreach process that the borough went through in an effort to plan the project proved to be extremely beneficial," Mayor O’Neill said. "It allowed the residents to not only buy into the project, but participate in how it evolved and ultimately looked. Based upon the feedback that we have had, the process was more successful than we could have imagined," he said.
"The selection process for choosing a project partner was a key element to forming a group that could come together and work with the governing body, professional staff and the entire community to deliver a project that the town could be proud of and that would benefit the residents and visitors to Princeton," the mayor said.

