Institute Woods preservation made without any intention of finanical gain
By: Hilary Parker
For the first time ever, an institution will be recognized with the Regional Planning Partnership’s Van Zandt Williams Jr. Community Involvement Award when the Institute for Advanced Study receives the honor Nov. 9 "for its preservation and stewardship of the Institute Woods."
Dedicated to environmentally and economically sound land-use planning, the RPP selected the Institute to receive the award from a pool of eight nominees, said RPP Vice President Ann Brady. Since the award’s establishment in 1996 to honor Van Zandt Williams Jr., the former Princeton University vice president of development, it has gone only to individuals.
"… The Institute is unique in their preservation effort in that other companies that preserve land often preserve it in order to get a permit to develop another portion of their property," Ms. Brady said. "Obviously the Institute preserved the tranquil atmosphere at the Institute, but they were not using their efforts to gain something else."
The Institute’s commitment to the preservation of the Institute Woods was notable, she said, in a number of ways. After rejecting a $20 million offer from a developer for the tract, she said the post-doctoral academic institution in 1997 sold the development rights for open-space preservation of the 589-acre wooded property for roughly half of the original offer. Even more, Ms. Brady said it is important to realize that the Institute lands comprised a significant financial resource to the institution, as the Institute has never charged tuition to its members.
A nonprofit organization the Institute Lands Preservation Committee was created to unite 12 organizations in the effort to preserve the property. These included the D&R Greenway, Friends of Princeton Open Space and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, among others.
Princeton Township in 1997 helped support the purchase using grants and loans from the New Jersey Green Acres Program to preserve the lands under the New Jersey Agricultural Retention and Development Act, and Mercer County also provided a grant. Over 800 people supported the preservation, Ms. Brady said, citing a significant contribution from the late Frank E. Taplin Jr. and his wife, Peggy.
At the time, the Institute pledged to repay the township’s $1.4 million Green Acres loan, Ms. Brady said, and to maintain the property and to allow public access.
"People think that it just takes care of itself," Ms. Brady said, but in reality the Institute expends roughly $100,000 each year to maintain the pristine site.
As the RPP is committed to the environment and smart growth, Ms. Brady said Maher Terminals, the largest container terminal operator in the Port of New York and New Jersey, will be awarded the C. McKim Norton Community Development Award "for its commitment to redevelopment, transportation efficiency and the environment."
The annual dinner will be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Hyatt Regency Princeton in West Windsor. Individual tickets cost between $125 and $150, and tables and sponsorships are also available. For more information, call (609) 393-9434.

