By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The West Coast-based buyer of the Post Office in Palmer Square will receive a series of easements from the Princeton Council to be able to better use the oddly shaped building that sits on municipal land.
Officials said this week that they do not know what real estate developer LCOR Ventures LLC’s plans are for a building that is located in the heart of Princeton’s upscale dining and shopping area. A message left at the company’s headquarters in Oakland, California, was not returned Wednesday.
The easements are needed for such things as having a handicapped-accessible ramp, officials said this week. Council is expected Monday to introduce an ordinance granting them to the company. Councilwoman Jo S. Butler said Wednesday that she expects the governing body to approve.
In 2013, LCOR emerged as the winning bidder to acquire the building. At a meeting with the town about a year ago, company representatives floated a concept for a restaurant and or a retail store, said town planning director Lee O. Solow on Wednesday. The site is zoned for commercial use.
For her part, Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller said Wednesday that the town should meet with the buyer and hear what his plans are for the building before voting to grant the easements. She noted the council is under no legal obligation to give LCOR the easements it is seeking.
“I feel that we owe it to our residents to do what we can to get a tenant that benefits the public and enhances the downtown,” she said. “I hope we’re not looking at another high-end retail store.”
As for the Post Office, the agency is staying in Princeton but moving to Nassau Street in the former West Coast Video building that it will share with convenience store 7-Eleven.
Postal Service spokesman Ray V. Daiutolo Sr. said Wednesday that “construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of August/early September.”
“It is possible we could open that location by the middle of next month,” he said.
