Mixed-use plans for Alexander Road
By Stephanie Vaccaro, Staff Writer
Representatives from Princeton University presented a residential mixed-use ordinance, or a change of zoning, for the Alexander Road South Zone at the Princeton Township Committee meeting Monday.
”What we would be doing essentially is changing over from a service zone to a residential mixed-use zone,” said Mayor Chad Goerner at the end of the presentation.
The purpose of the ordinance is to establish a mixed-use neighborhood governed by a comprehensive set of guidelines to achieve a new gateway neighborhood.
It provides for a balance of residential, retail and commercial components that are complementary to the adjacent campus and transit hub.
It encourages an interesting, active and appealing streetscape for residents and passersby, said Bob Durkee, vice president and secretary of Princeton University.
The vision for Alexander South is to create a largely residential neighborhood that would also include retail and office space. It would be a well-defined gateway to Princeton with an attractive landscape. The streets would be pedestrian and bike-friendly. Mass transit would be easily accessible. The development would be held to the high standards of environmental sustainability. And it would create the opportunity for ratable properties, said Mr. Durkee.
”Can I put it bluntly? I don’t foresee this neighborhood as competing with Palmer Square,” said Bernie Miller, a Township Committee member.
”One of the reasons why we set out looking at this particular zone for mixed-use with a housing component is because we wanted to emphasize diversity in housing stock and that means that we don’t want this competing with Palmer Square and the higher-end neighborhoods,” said Mayor Goerner. “We wanted to have a larger stock of housing so that people at varying levels of income can come into the community.”
”It’s an attractive area for the way it can be developed because of its proximity to the town,” said Mr. Durkee. “But it also has built-in across the way a pretty attractive green space.”
Some of the current uses would be carried over to the residential mixed-use zone, and others would be added.
”The ones that are removed long ago became inappropriate for that corridor, and that’s why they don’t exist anymore,” said Mr. Durkee. “In fact, they are provided for in the ordinance, and it seems to be time to recognize that that really isn’t the service corridor anymore.”
Additional uses include restaurants, pubs; office/research uses; instructional, reference and service; transit uses; child care facilities; parking lots and garages; service and personal property repair establishments (barber, shoe repair, etc.); and residential: one-family, two-family, attached, and multiple dwellings.
Uses that would be omitted include uses conducive to heavy trucking and bus transportation; uses characterized by moderate dust and noise, such as storage, handling, sale and delivery of lumber, coal, masonry, grain and feed, solid and liquid fuels and similar goods; storage of inflammable materials other than explosives; freight yards, railroad sidings; and printing establishments and newspaper offices.
”We were pleased with the response to our presentation on Monday night, and it certainly seems that we and the committee are in agreement about the best long-term development of the Alexander corridor,” said Mr. Durkee.
The draft ordinance and design guidelines were given to the Township Committee for review.
The presentation also included some of the shared goals for Alexander Corridor approved at the Princeton Township Committee in November 2009. The goals include creating an attractive new gateway to the Princeton community and the campus, creating an arts, transit and educational district at the northern end of the township’s Alexander corridor; creating a mixed-use district south of the arts and transit.

