Variety spices life at Clarke Caton Hintz.
By: George Frey
Key people and teamwork are behind the successes of one of the area’s most recognized architectural, planning and historical preservation companies, says John Clarke, a principal with the West Trenton firm of Clarke Caton Hintz.
The firm is a group of architects, landscape architects and planners that has been in business for the last 25 years, Mr. Clarke said.
"You have to hire people that get the work done for you," Mr. Clarke said. "You have to have good people working with you, and good partners."
Mr. Clarke should know. The firm was named the American Institute of Architects New Jersey Architectural Firm of the Year, 2000, and was recognized for having established itself as a leading multidisciplinary firm by providing professional services in architecture, urban design, historic preservation, planning and landscape architecture. The firm also has been recognized by state historical preservation agencies for its work.
This year, Campbell’s Field in Camden, which the firm designed, has been selected as a finalist for the National Urban Land Institute (ULI) Award for Excellence. The Urban Land Institute presents the awards to honor superior planning, design and development. The winner will be announced in the fall.
The firm has designed a total of three baseball parks in the state, the others being in Trenton and Somerset. George Hibbs, a partner with the firm, said the firm likes doing ballparks.
"They’re a big part of redevelopment plans," Mr. Hibbs said. "Trenton has seen it as a catalyst for other development in that area. These are the sorts of projects that are cross-cultural links. They help put the pieces of the puzzle together," in an underdeveloped area, he said.
John Hatch, another partner with the firm, said they didn’t have any baseball park experience until the project in Trenton came along.
"We did a lot of research and work with consultants for the project," Mr. Hatch said. "A big part of the challenge was to make the projects fit into the surrounding landscapes and neighborhoods. I think the Trenton park does that very well."
Around Princeton, chances are you’ve seen the firm’s restoration work on Morven on Stockton Street and the Benjamin Gray house on Mapleton Road near Route 1. Other projects include an ongoing assessment and plan for Alexander Road in the McCarter Theatre, Dinky station area.
"For the Alexander Road project, we studied a lot of different options for the university," Mr. Clarke said. "We looked at different ways to connect the residential campuses to the main campus."
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Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski
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| A converted train station in Ewing serves as the offices of Clarke, Canton and Hintz.
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Mr. Hibbs and Mr. Hatch explained that the Graduate College, Forbes College and some university offices are all across Alexander Road somewhat away from the main campus, and that the company delivered recommendations to the university some time ago. The company looked into ways to make street, building, lighting and sidewalk improvements that would "keep the character of a major gateway into Princeton," identifying the strengths and fixing any weaknesses, Mr. Hatch said. He did not know what the university’s current plans for the project were.
"We finished our recommendations about 18 months ago. Sometimes priorities change in projects like this."
Pam Hersh, director of state and community affairs for Princeton University, said there are no plans to do work on the Alexander Road project in the near future. "These were all good, worthwhile indications, but we’re not acting on anything yet." Ms. Hersh said the projects could be undertaken in the future.
Clarke Caton and Hintz also has been busy lately with school design work through the Abbot program, in which the state is providing more than $10 billion for the improvement of the public school infrastructure. For Clarke Caton Hintz, that includes plans for the renovation of Trenton High School and designing a new K-8 school in the Roebling complex, also in Trenton. The firm also will design a middle school in Jersey City. Bids on the two new school building projects will go out in the spring, and construction should start in June, Mr. Hatch said.
"We do a wide variety of work," Mr. Clarke said. "There are some firms that do just school work. Or just hospital work. We prefer to not specialize in just one type of building."
As far as the future of the 30-member firm goes, Mr. Clarke says the group is looking for a bigger home. It has been in a West Trenton train station building for the last dozen years, while the business has continued to grow. "We’re in the throes of trying to build new offices. The problem with this many people in the firm is everyone has an opinion on where to go. There are too many opinions on the matter." Mr. Clarke said the company would stay in the area.