Hospital site options weighed

Senior housing, cafes and everything in between discussed.

By: David Campbell
   The Princeton Regional Planning Board began the considerable task Thursday night of weighing alternate uses for the Witherspoon Street site of the University Medical Center at Princeton.
   About 30 to 40 residents turned out for the public meeting, the first of three scheduled by the board to help it devise Master Plan amendments leading to possible rezoning of the hospital’s land for reuse or redevelopment.
   The land owned by Princeton HealthCare System, the hospital’s corporate parent, totals 11.76 acres — including the Franklin Avenue parking lot and the Harris Road houses. The hospital and adjacent medical buildings are on land zoned exclusively for hospital and medical use. That zoning would have to be changed to permit alternate uses of the site.
   In January, the PHCS trustees voted to explore building a new state-of-the-art hospital campus on a site of at least 50 acres within two to six miles of the current location. The new facility would cost about $250 million, with revenue from the sale of the land in Princeton to be invested in a new campus. PHCS also wants to sell its Merwick Rehab Hospital & Nursing Care facility off Route 206, but that wasn’t up for discussion Thursday night.
   Board members and residents Thursday suggested a range of options when it came to what should replace the hospital if and when it relocates. Among them were senior housing, affordable housing and mixed-use development that would blend housing with some office, retail and café space.
   Board member Wendy Benchley said "the elephant in the living room" was whether a continuing care retirement community would be appropriate — she said the site might be too small to accommodate a village-type CCRC. PHCS President and CEO Barry Rabner noted that there are some urban solutions for such developments that could fit.
   A CCRC typically includes independent-living apartments and townhouses for seniors, some form of assisted-living facilities and nursing-home care. Ms. Benchley said she thought the hospital site should host a variety of uses.
   Several residents expressed an interest in seeing the land reused for some form of CCRC or senior housing. Erdman Avenue resident Flora Davis urged the board to address what she feels is an exodus of seniors leaving Princeton in large numbers. She said that 75 percent of residents at the Stonebridge at Montgomery senior-living community in Montgomery Township come from Princeton.
   "We have been exiling our seniors for years," Ms. Davis said, echoing Mr. Rabner that there are CCRC models that could fit the Witherspoon Street site.
   Helmut Schwab of Westcott Road agreed that the site would be appropriate for a CCRC, but also said a certain amount of medical and clinical services should remain at the site. He said a retail use there would not prove viable because of an abundance of retail already available in Princeton.
   John Street resident Joanna Kendig said a "gated community" like a CCRC would not be appropriate. She said mixed use that draws a range of ages, races and incomes would be best, as she said it would help the site fit back into the "fabric" of the community.
   "A uniform use is not what is the fabric of the community," she said. "All the seniors don’t have to be in one place. Let’s be creative."
   John Street resident Hendricks Davis said there is a need for "housing that is truly affordable," adding that he would like to see mixed use there "and opportunities for people from mixed incomes to buy into the American dream."
   Board member William Enslin said he would like to see the creation of a village there that would offer a mix of uses.
   "We can’t afford to have a monolithic zone of any sort," he said, adding that there is "a crying need in this community" for senior housing. He said reuse of the site could provide opportunities for affordable- and moderate-priced housing.
   Mr. Rabner said PHCS hopes to answer the question of where the hospital will relocate by mid-May.
   The health-care system already has notified about 30 potential developers for the current site. He said public hearings — like the one held Thursday night — will help PHCS define the parameters for potential developers.
   The other two public hearings are scheduled for May 26 and June 16. The board wants to ready parameters for possible Master Plan amendments by mid-July, with hearings taking place in the fall.