By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The Institute for Advanced Study on Tuesday filed plans with the municipality to construct townhouses on land it owns that comprises part of the Princeton Battlefield, in a faculty housing proposal that an erstwhile opponent of the IAS said it is supporting., The application to the planning board follows the compromise agreement the IAS and the Civil War Trust had announced in December in resolving a controversy pitting development rights against the loss of a piece of American history. The IAS will use less of a section of battlefield known as Maxwell’s Field for the project, as part of a deal to sell 14.85 other acres to the Trust for $4 million. The Trust, then, will turn over the land to the state, to expand Battlefield State Park., The IAS has begun construction on eight townhouse it had received permission from the town to build, through an earlier Planning Board approval. This latest application is to construct eight more townhouses, as opposed to seven single-family homes that the town had approved., Information the IAS submitted to the town said the 16 townhouses will be on the east side of Godel Lane. The application needs to be reviewed by municipal staff. A hearing has not been scheduled before the municipal Planning Board, which needs to approve the project., “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment, one way or the other, right before the hearing,” Mayor Liz Lempert said Wednesday by phone when asked if she supported the proposal., In addition to the Planning Board, the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission, another regulatory agency, also needs to review the project., The Princeton Battlefield Society had opposed the original version of the project, and fought the IAS in court to keep the historic site from being developed. But as part of the settlement announced in December, the organization is supporting the townhouse proposal, said Battlefield Society attorney Bruce Afran on Wednesday., He said the Society would prefer to see nothing built there, but the organization views this as a “compromise,” in his words., “I think it’s always something to celebrate when you have two groups that were fighting with each other who are able to come together and find consensus,” Mayor Lempert said., The Battle of Princeton, fought Jan.3, 1777, is seen as a seminal moment in the fight for independence. Forces led by George Washington defeated their British counterparts, in fighting that went all the way to Nassau Hall. Washington’s victory at Princeton is seen as a turning point in the war., State Sen. Kip Bateman (R-16) had joined the fight to preserve the historic site., “I think they (the IAS) realized the historical significance of the Princeton Battlefield,” he said Wednesday.
