Council delays decision to Dec. 19 meeting
By: Emily Craighead
WEST WINDSOR The Township Council late Monday night put off a decision to approve a Princeton Junction-area redevelopment study.
That study, which was unanimously approved by the Planning Board on Nov. 2, instead will be considered at a council meeting on Dec. 19.
If approved next month, the study calls for the examination of an area that comprises 350 acres and 65 properties, and is considered one of the fastest-growing portions in the township. Twenty-five of the properties are vacant lots, parking areas or properties related to railroad operations.
The proposed development within an approximate half-mile radius of the train station would include a village core, a residential neighborhood and an office district. In those sections, there would be:
174,000 square feet of office space;
120,000 square feet of retail space;
800 residential units;
About 10 acres of open space; and
A 10 percent increase in parking.
Plans to redevelop the train station are contingent upon the construction of the Vaughn Drive connector, between Alexander Road and Washington Road, to keep traffic off neighborhood roads.
About 110 acres in the proposed study area are in municipal, public or railroad ownership, and 240 acres are privately owned.
The entire area is eligible for redevelopment under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, according to township consultant John Madden. The applicable provision states, "The designation of the delineated area is consistent with smart growth planning principles adopted pursuant to law or regulation."
Fifty-four properties meet additional criteria, such as being "unused," "publicly owned" or "vacant for 10 years," or having buildings that are "detrimental to the safety, health, morals or welfare of the community." The study calls for all 65 properties to be included to create a consistent planning area, Mr. Madden said.
The inclusion of a property in the study does not necessarily mean it will be redeveloped, and initial redevelopment will focus on public land, Planning Board Attorney Gerald Muller said.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh has stressed that he wants to work with property owners, and acquisition of properties through eminent domain procedures will be a last resort.
Smart-growth planning principles, the basis for the provision cited by Mr. Madden, include redesigning an area to meet its economic potential, a key factor in Princeton Junction.
The redevelopment study, if approved, would be one in a series of studies conducted over the past year, examining ways to create a town center surrounding the Princeton Junction at West Windsor train station.
Examples of model transit village or village centers in the study include Princeton’s Palmer Square and the South Orange train station. A $125,000 vision study, funded by the state and NJ Transit, features a town square, a tree-lined boulevard, improved pedestrian access to the station, new ratables and expanded housing opportunities for empty nesters and young professionals.
Another component of the train station redevelopment would be a regional Bus Rapid Transit system stretching along Route 1 from I-295 in Lawrence to Ridge Road in South Brunswick.

