Design of building intended for Tulane Street lot revised.
By: Jennifer Potash
Developer Nassau HKT Associates, partners with Princeton Borough for the downtown garage complex, unveiled revised plans Tuesday for the five-story food market and apartment building at the Tulane Street parking lot.
An earlier version on the plan prompted objections from adjacent merchants regarding traffic circulation for delivery trucks and pedestrians.
In a related matter, the developer reported that the garage construction is on schedule to open by early March.
The mixed-use building, called Building C, will house 57 apartments on the second through fifth floors. A yet-to-be-named food market will be on the ground floor. A small plaza will be located at the rear of the building and a landscaped walkway with illuminated metal arches leading to Spring Street will connect the project with the garage, a smaller mixed-use building and plaza. The borough is spending $13.7 million for the 500-space garage and plaza.
Robert Powell, principal of Nassau HKT, said the back of Building C, which will face the Princeton Record Exchange building, has been stepped back to provide a wider driveway to fit the delivery trucks serving adjacent businesses as well as garbage trucks.
The delivery area for the proposed market, originally planned for the back of the building off the driveway, was scrapped in favor of a new loading zone off Tulane Street. The 40-foot-long zone would cut into the sidewalk, reducing its width to 5 feet, but the market’s delivery trucks will not obstruct traffic on the one-way Tulane Street, Mr. Powell said.
The plan is supported by surrounding merchants and property owners, Mr. Powell said.
One resident Tuesday raised concerns about truck traffic as the result of the new development and changes in the traffic patterns.
Tina Clement, of Vandeventer Avenue, said the trucks should be discouraged from using the residential streets to leave the borough. Trucks using Vandeventer Avenue clog traffic and their exhaust pollutes the environment, she said.
Councilman David Goldfarb suggested not making traffic changes, such as eliminating left turns from Vandeventer Avenue onto Nassau Street, until the development is complete and officials can gauge the traffic patterns.
The plans for Building C were submitted to the Princeton Regional Planning Office. Borough Engineer Carl Peters is conducting a review to determine if the documents are complete, Mr. Powell said. The Site Plan Review Advisory Board and the Princeton Regional Planning Board will likely review the application early next year, he said.
The projects across Spring Street from the proposed Building C the parking garage, small apartment building and plaza remain on schedule, Mr. Powell said.
The concrete work on the garage should be completed the week of Dec. 16, Mr. Powell said.
Construction of Building A, the five-story mixed-use building with a restaurant on the ground floor and 20 apartment units on the upper floors, will begin in late January and is slated for completion by September, he said. The plaza work will begin in March and should be completed by May, he said.
All of these schedules depend on a mild winter, he added.
Concerned Citizens of Princeton, the nonprofit group suing to stop the development, recently filed a motion with the state appellate division to halt the construction until the court hears the case.
Proposals for plaza furniture heavy, metal benches with armrest dividers fixed to the ground and moveable aluminum tables and chairs were not warmly embraced by the Borough Council.
The furniture proposals will be reviewed by the Functional Art Committee that is working with artists to develop designs for the plaza’s trash receptacles, tree grates and bike racks.
The Borough Council will review the plaza furniture again in February