Merwick tract and surrounding area approved for unified development zone

Housing is key component of proposed land use

By: Hilary Parker
   The Regional Planning Board of Princeton on Thursday night adopted an amendment to the Princeton Community Master Plan that will guide the future development of the Merwick, Stanworth and YM/YWCA properties.
   The previous Master Plan recommendations for the properties assumed the existing Merwick Rehab Hospital & Nursing Care facility would stay in its present location on Bayard Lane and undergo renovations. With Princeton HealthCare System’s decision to move both the hospital and Merwick to Plainsboro, the community had the opportunity to create a new plan for the three properties.
   The PHCS-owned Merwick facility features the Merwick mansion, parking areas, gardens and a wooded area on nine acres in the northern portion of the site.
   Three lots spanning roughly six acres comprise the YWCA Princeton-Princeton Family YMCA properties, which include the YWCA-owned Bramwell House on Bayard Lane, and the jointly owned fields and facilities on Paul Robeson Place.
   The Stanworth Apartments, owned by Princeton University, currently contain 154 units of housing.
   At the April 20 Planning Board meeting, Princeton University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee expressed interest in the university’s acquisition of Merwick for use as additional university-owned housing.
   The new Master Plan amendment reads, "Merwick, Stanworth and the YM/YWCA properties should be planned together so that a combination of residential, institutional and community uses can take advantage of their configuration and location."
   With the amendment, a new zone for the 32-acre area is encouraged that will allow the higher-density development of the John-Witherspoon neighborhood on the Stanworth and Merwick properties. While the new zone would allow for residential use at all three of the properties, an intention is explicitly stated that the Y will continue to meet community needs and not become a residential development.
   Under requirements set by the state Council on Affordable Housing, the amended Master Plan calls for any rezoning to set aside 20 percent of the housing in the area for affordable housing. Multiple housing types, from single-family to multi-family and attached housing, are encouraged.
   The amended Master Plan promotes the establishment of new streets, with specific mention made of the need to plan them in such a way as to avoid their use as a bypass of the traffic light at Bayard Lane and Paul Robeson Place. Additionally, with an eye toward the future, redevelopment in the area will be required to "take into account the potential need for public transit and or private jitney services."
   The importance of pedestrian and bicycle paths that link the properties to one another and with nearby roads — including John Street, Paul Robeson Place and Bayard Lane — is also noted.
   "Special consideration" will be given under the amended plan to portions of the wooded area at Merwick and the Y playfield for open-space preservation. This includes the potential use of zoning techniques, such as density bonuses or clustering, to promote such preservation.
   The need for further research into potential historic preservation at the Merwick site before development applications are filed is also noted.
   The board began considering plans for use of the Merwick site in February, following PHCS’s November announcement of its intention to move the hospital and rehabilitation facility to the FMC Corp. site bordered by Route 1 and Plainsboro Road in Plainsboro.