After almost a decade of debate, Princeton’s first independent, active-adult community, broke ground last Thursday on the 21-acre wooded site on Bunn Drive in Princeton Township.
Officiating at the groundbreaking of Copperwood were J. Robert Hillier, the creator and developer of the project, Princeton Township Mayor Chad Goerner, former Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand and Michele Byers, the executive director of the NJ Conservation Foundation.
The site had originally been approved for a condominium development by Hovnanian but, when Hovnanian decided not to proceed, Mr. Hillier picked up the project with a complete re-design of the site, creating a rental community with five close-knit, three and four-story buildings joined by gardens, piazzas and allés.
As re-designed, the project only consumes three of the 21 acres on the site. The remaining lands will be put into conservation in perpetuity. The project incorporates the latest energy-saving and sustainability techniques, including rain harvesting for irrigation and green roofs.
As a rental community, the complex will have such amenities as a café lounge/library, a fitness center, and a lecture/meeting room, concierge service, walking trails and a dog park for the residents’ pets.
Copperwood has a waiting list of 165 names for the 153 units with no advertising or marketing.
Construction is expected to take 15 months with occupancy in the fall of 2013.
Costanza Builders, which is also building the new apartment project for Princeton University on Carnegie Lake, is the general contractor.

