A 15-year lease, option to buy
By Greg Forester Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — The sole occupant of a brand-new 112,000 square-foot office building off of Route 1 south will be none other than Princeton University, according to testimony given at Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting.
Officials from Carnegie Center developer Boston Properties revealed the nature of the planned occupant last night, as they sought and successfully received site plan approval for Building 701 of Carnegie Center West.
”They had to get the full-blown approval for everything related to the site, and they got it,” said Planning Board Attorney Gerald Muller.
Located south of the Princeton Overlook, the 60-foot tall building will house some of the school’s administrative and Office of Information Technology staff.
The university will have a 15-year lease on the structure, with an option to purchase after 10 years, Boston Properties officials said.
The building is part of a university-wide plan to maintain a walkable and pedestrian-friendly campus, according to the university’s director of community and regional affairs, Kristin Appelget.
”Some administrative staff are being relocated to make space on campus for academic uses,” said Ms. Appelget. “As part of that long-range plan some staff will be moving to 701 Carnegie Center.”
Wednesday’s presentation included some revisions to original plans for the building, including a change in the shape of the structure, and some new aesthetic features, according to Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner.
”The exterior of the building will be brick-faced with a vertical metal accent strip on all four corners,” said Mr. Gardner. “It’s beautiful, it really looks very attractive.”
University employees stationed in the building will have the benefit of a fitness center, full cafeteria, and an outdoor terrace used for a fair-weather dining area.
The university-wide campus shuttle will also be extended to the new structure once it becomes operational, providing staffers with transportation to campus in Princeton.
Boston Properties Regional Vice President Mickey Landis said the building should be completed by the summer of 2009, given a summer of 2008 start date for construction. Construction time was estimated at 13 months.
It usually takes about 90 days for a tenant to complete the move into a structure like 701, Mr. Landis said.
With plans for additional buildings on land adjacent to the building, number 701, Mr. Gardner asked representatives from the developer, Boston Properties, whether the university had designs on any of those structures as well.
Indeed, it does.
”It turns out the university does indeed have an option to lease building 702, but it was emphasized they do not have an option to buy,” Mr. Gardner said.
Some concerns from the Planning Board included the potential for the property’s attractiveness as a major ratable to decrease if the university purchases the property, since the school’s tax-exempt status would technically end its contribution to the township’s tax base.
”We welcome Princeton University’s interest in developing West Windsor, but I am reminded of the fact that if Princeton acquires the property, the township could lose a major ratable,” Mr. Gardner said.
The township could enter into negotiations for a payment in lieu of taxes from the school at the time of the purchase, although some township officials said the university has a record of contributing moneys to municipalities despite its status as a tax-exempt entity.
”In Princeton Borough, the university has been pretty good about this situation,” said Township Attorney Michael Herbert, who has worked as the Princeton Borough Attorney for 20 years. “Usually when buildings are used for non-educational purposes, the university has contributed its full share of taxes.”
Mr. Herbert said the university contributes $1 million to the borough for municipal services annually, which Mr. Herbert described as “unusual.”
Princeton also owns property in West Windsor at the Sarnoff Research Center site. The school has purchased a strip of land fronting on Route 1 north, adjacent to the Millstone River and the West Windsor-Plainsboro border.
The first Planning Board approvals of development plans for Carnegie Center property — which straddles Route 1 — go back to the 1987, with a previous developer. Boston Properties purchased buildings and certain rights to the property in June of 1998.
The university has already moved some of its library functions to the Forrestal Center in Plainsboro, and additional administrative offices have been moved off campus into offices around Princeton Borough, university officials said.

