Zoning for hospital site also on agenda
By: Courtney Gross
The Regional Planning Board of Princeton was scheduled to discuss at its meeting Thursday evening a proposed new chemistry building and footbridge at Princeton University as well as ordinances introduced by Princeton Borough Council last week that would revise zoning uses at the current site of the University Medical Center at Princeton.
According to a memo from Princeton’s Planning Director Lee Solow, Township Engineer Robert Kiser and Township Zoning Officer Peter Kneski regarding the university’s application for the chemistry building, the Washington Road site is currently occupied by the armory buildings one-story structures that formally housed the university’s federal credit union. The site is south of the university’s Jadwin Hall and east of Princeton Stadium and Jadwin Gymnasium.
The majority of the site is already covered by buildings or parking lots, but some trees could be affected by the construction of the pedestrian bridge, the memo states.
The pedestrian bridge would cross Washington Road south of the Carl Icahn Laboratory and Jadwin Hall, and the majority of its construction would occur near Armory Drive, the memo states. The bridge would also be connected to existing pathways.
The memo indicates the proposed four-story chemistry building, approximately 248,000 square feet, would contain primarily masonry and glass.
Township officials suggest careful review of the project will be needed because of the construction’s proximity to a township gateway. Officials also indicated that at the time of a final site plan review, both a parking plan and an explanation of a possible revised shuttle system to account for the construction should be submitted.
Also scheduled for Thursday evening, the Planning Board has been asked to review and comment on the zoning ordinances pertaining to the medical center site on Witherspoon Street and Franklin Avenue.
The Borough Council introduced the ordinance Sept. 26, and is seeking feedback from the board prior to a public hearing scheduled for the end of October, according to a memorandum from Mr. Solow to the board.
The council debated the ordinances for several weeks prior to their introduction.
The first of three ordinances scheduled for review would create a mixed-use zone for a 5.6-acre area on Witherspoon Street and Franklin Avenue where only medical uses are currently allowed. The ordinance would create a new zone allotting 280 residential units as well as retail, restaurants and office space. The main campus, the ordinance states, would be developed as one entity.
The second ordinance would provide design standards for the medical center’s main campus to integrate new construction into the surrounding neighborhood. Guidelines include keeping construction in the center of the site, fronting retail spaces on streets or public plazas and discouraging construction of a gated community.
The final ordinance up for review would create a new residential zone for the surface parking lot on Franklin Avenue currently used by the medical center. The zone would also include Franklin Terrace and Maple Terrace an affordable-housing development on the corner of Franklin Avenue and Witherspoon Street.
The ordinance groups the affordable-housing development and the parking lot into one zone in order to allow for future development in conjunction with the existing properties.

