Many want Valley Road building to remain as service program center
By: Courtney Gross
Retaining the Valley Road building for community service programs was the dominant theme of a public forum Wednesday on the future of the aging former elementary school, owned by the Princeton Regional School District.
Approximately 50 neighbors, tenant representatives, public officials and community advocates appeared before members of the school district’s administration and its architectural firm, KSS Architects of Princeton, to give their views on the future of the approximately 9-acre site at the corner of Witherspoon Street and Valley Road.
To ensure community input, school Superintendent Judith Wilson said, the district scheduled the open forum as part of the brainstorming process. The district, officials said, currently has no definitive plans for the building.
Representatives from KSS Architects, who are charged with studying current and future uses of the site, described the building’s condition parts of which date back to 1910 as well as the zoning uses that surround the area. Sections of the building were described as in poor condition.
Although the site is in a residential zone, representatives said, a mixed-use area abuts the property, and could provide more options.
Representatives of KSS said because the firm designed the township municipal complex across Witherspoon Street from the Valley Road building and its offices are within walking distance on Witherspoon Street, the firm has a special interest in the property.
Above all, school representatives said, the district intends to retain the 5-acre playing fields, leaving much of the discussion Wednesday focused on the approximately 73,000-square-foot building.
"The building right now is at a turning point and we need to make intelligent decisions on where we go from here," KSS Partner Edmund Klimek said.
KSS representatives alluded to the possibility of excessive costs in renovating the building at Wednesday’s forum, leaving questions on whether the building should be torn down for a new structure.
But Ms. Wilson told attendees the district and KSS are in the most preliminary planning stages, both financially and architecturally, and they first wanted to receive feedback from the community.
"I must emphasize that we are at inch one," Ms. Wilson said. "There are no options or scenarios."
The building currently houses administrative offices for the district, Princeton’s adolescent counseling center Corner House, Princeton Community Television, as well as other programs and township services. Previously, the building was occupied by the township’s municipal offices. The township relinquished its ownership claim to the building when it moved across the street.
Former Princeton Township Mayor Jim Floyd said many other buildings in the Princeton area are in the same condition as the Valley Road building, but are still utilized. Pressing for a free, community facility, Mr. Floyd noted other buildings open to the community charge fees for their use.
"Can’t we have something that the taxpayer has a return on their investment?" Mr. Floyd asked.
Current tenants of the building attended Wednesday’s forum, many to "remind" the district they occupy and rely on the facility.
Susan Carril, chairwoman of YWCA Princeton’s Child Care Center, said the 50 students who attend the nursery school often join the public school system later, and many cannot afford to pay preliminary education elsewhere.
"I wanted to make sure you knew, or were reminded, about this program that operates out of this site," Ms. Carril said.
Neighbors pushed the district to view the Valley Road building’s future in conjunction with other projects proposed in Princeton, including the redevelopment of the University Medical Center at Princeton site, to prevent redundancies.
Some suggested using a portion of the facility as a homeless shelter or for transitional housing, while others emphasized the growth in the community and a need for additional community space.
Susan W. Hoskins, executive director of the Princeton Senior Resource Center, said many community organizations and nonprofits, including the center, are in need of space for events, classes and activities. The site’s accessibility to public transportation, she added, is a plus.
"We’ve been to meetings on youth space, senior space, youth and senior space," Ms. Hoskins said. "My vision is a multi-use community space."
Several attendees said the district should sell the building and use the profits to offset taxes. But the ultimate financial benefit for selling the building is uncertain, because state regulations would require the district to hand over some revenues to certain programs.

