Council decides to let medical center make the first move, at its expense.
By: Jennifer Potash
With much uncertainty still surrounding Princeton HealthCare System’s plan to relocate to a new campus outside of Princeton, the Princeton Borough Council is opting not to hire a consultant and launch studies on the possible reuses of the hospital’s Witherspoon Street site.
The council agreed with Mayor Joseph O’Neill’s suggestion to let PHCS offer a plan to the Princeton Regional Planning Board and pay for the costs of the review.
"Let the hospital come to us and say, ‘This is the way we would like the zoning,’" Mayor O’Neill said, "so we are not going to have to do it on our dime."
The PHCS trustees voted last month to build a state-of-the-art hospital campus on a site of at least 50 acres within two to six miles of the current location. The new campus will cost at least $250 million and be funded from the proceeds of the sale of the current Witherspoon Street campus of nearly 12 acres as well as the sale of the Merwick Rehab Hospital & Nursing Care off Bayard Lane, hospital officials have said.
But the value of the two parcels of land may not be known until first determining the type and amount of redevelopment that will be permitted at the sites.
"I think we’ll know within a year if the hospital has the wherewithal to move," Mayor O’Neill said.
Former borough Mayor Marvin Reed, chairman of the Princeton Health Care Task Force established by the borough and Princeton Township to weigh possible Master Plan and zoning changes that would be needed based on PHCS’s decision presented the group’s report to the council.
Several possible reuses of the nearly 12-acre Witherspoon Street site proposed by the task force include residential or senior housing, Princeton University housing or mixed-use residential and business.
Both the Witherspoon Street and Bayard Lane sites would need to be rezoned for redevelopment such as housing to take place.
Council members David Goldfarb and Wendy Benchley said the hospital’s financial needs should not drive zoning considerations.
"I feel a little bit blackmailed. That’s a harsh word. I feel a little bit torn, manipulated because the hospital can only get out of that land what we allow in the way of density and development," Ms. Benchley said.
Mr. Goldfarb said any plan put forth by the hospital needs an independent review.
Councilman Roger Martindell said he is more concerned about the kind of clinic for low-income residents and emergency care the hospital intended to provide if it leaves the borough.
Several members of the public commented on the report.
Pierna Thayer of Chestnut Street, a member of the borough’s Affordable Housing Board, urged support for redevelopment that includes more housing for moderate- and low-income residents.
"This is a rare opportunity to build significant and needed housing," she said.