Study says new hospital site meets redevelopment criteria

Plainsboro would gain more control over University Medical Center at Princeton project

By: Greg Forester
   PLAINSBORO — The Planning Board could officially recommend the township designate the future site of the University Medical Center at Princeton as an area in need of redevelopment as early as Monday after a township-commissioned report about the site determined it meets state criteria necessary for the redevelopment designation.
   "Based on our analysis of the current conditions within the study area, it is evident that much of the FMC Corp. facility meets one or more of the ‘area in need of redevelopment’ criteria," concluded the report, put together by Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates of New York.
   Following discussion Monday, the next step for Planning Board officials would be to make a recommendation to the Township Committee to designate the FMC site as a redevelopment area, in a move township officials believe could bring significant benefits for the township as the new hospital is built off Route 1.
   At its projected completion some time in 2010, the new $350 million facility will include a 636,000-square-foot hospital, 120,000 square feet of offices, a 120,000-square-foot long-term care center, and an undetermined number of residential units, all calling Plainsboro Township home.
   This undertaking will impact Plainsboro and its residents, and the redevelopment designation would make the township better equipped to ensure the project doesn’t hurt the community, township officials said.
   "We looked into having the area designated for redevelopment because it would increase Plainsboro’s ability to negotiate as a partner in the process," said Township Administrator Robert Sheehan. "It would empower us to negotiate a developer’s agreement, among other kinds of flexibilities, that might allow us to meet our goals in this process in dealing with the traffic and fiscal impacts of any particular plan."
   Township officials first began looking at the site as a possible area for redevelopment earlier this year when they concluded doing so would enhance Plainsboro’s position as a partner in the construction of a hospital that could have major implications for the township.
   The 156-acre FMC site that was was originally several parcels of rolling Plainsboro farmland when it was first acquired by FMC in the 1950s, and now contains several generations of buildings constructed by the company, according to the report.
   Governed by state statutes, the redevelopment process requires any area proposed for redevelopment to meet one of several criteria set forth in the law.
   Following an investigation of the site, the consulting firm found it specifically met two criteria under the redevelopment statute: the use of portions of the existing plant have been discontinued, and other parts are outdated and suffering from faulty arrangement of design.
   The report also points out that only 200 employees are using facilities that once employed up to 1,000 during the peak period of activity during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
   Earlier in the month the Planning Board received presentations from township officials and representatives from a law firm well known as experts on the redevelopment process, McManimon & Scotland.
   Princeton HealthCare System oofficials first announced the FMC property as the new location for the hospital in November 2005.