By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
PRINCETON — A downtown Princeton residential development that has been in the works for more than two decades is rising from the earth along Paul Robeson Place and Chambers Street as the project developer and its sales team prepare to deliver units to residents as early as this fall.
The Residences at Palmer Square — known locally by Hulfish North and other project names since initial approvals were granted as far back as the 1980s — eventually will consist of 100 luxury condominiums and townhouses in three- and four-story structures.
The project consists of townhomes ranging between 2,600 to 4,500 square feet for between $1.8 million to $3 million and condominiums of between 1,600 to 3,200 square feet priced at between $1.5 million to $2.5 million. There also will be one-bedroom apartments and other living arrangements at the project.
The developer, Palmer Square Management LLC, and the new-home sales specialty company handling the project, Creations Real Estate Inc., plan on opening a sales office adjacent to the project on Hulfish Street where prospective buyers or renters can come in and learn about the residences. Residences expected to become available in the fall include the first 11 townhomes, out of a total of 17, and the first two condominium buildings of eight residences each.
Jay Goldberg, managing partner of Creations Real Estate Inc., said the project was on the forefront of residential development thinking due to its central location in downtown Princeton and proximity to shopping, working and living destinations and mass transit.
”This is really where New Jersey is supposed to be going in terms of development,” Mr. Goldberg said. “We need urban communities that integrate the ability to live, shop and work within walking distance.”
Palmer Square Management, a leasing and property management company also involved in the development and ownership of the project, already manages 160,000 square feet of office space, 110,000 square feet of retail space, 128 existing residential units and 994 parking spaces in two parking garages in the Palmer Square area.
Right now, Palmer Square Management and Creations Real Estate Inc. are focused on getting the sales center open in a space at the intersection of Hulfish and Chambers streets, according to Mr. Goldberg.
At that point, final approvals and other documents, required for sales, should be in hand, Mr. Goldberg said.
”All we’re doing right now is the preliminary work to get the sales center open,” Mr. Goldberg said. “We intend to open in the late summer or early fall.”
The project, which is fully taxable, is expected to generate up to $2 million in property tax revenue per year when completed.
The expected completion of the first 27 units in the fall and winter of 2009 will represent the beginning of the end of a lengthy and often contentious development process that stretched back to the early 1980s when precursor projects received local approvals.
Previous points of controversy during the project’s history included affordable housing obligations, parking and other matters, according to former Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed.
At one point, there was a threat of litigation over Princeton Borough’s affordable housing requirements although a settlement reached between Palmer Square Management and the borough required the company to provide 10 units of affordable housing elsewhere in the Palmer Square area.
A parking dispute also emerged between the borough and Palmer Square Management over whether the company, which owns the Hulfish North garage, would guarantee residents a parking space on the second tier of the Hulfish garage.
[email protected]

