By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO — A redevelopment plan for the future site of the University Medical Center at Princeton was reviewed by Planning Board members Monday, who then recommended it for acceptance by the Township Committee.
The plan spells out what will be built on the 160-acre Route 1 property, providing specific design guidelines and specifications for each portion of the property.
It calls for a 10-story, 806,000 square-foot hospital facility, a skilled-nursing facility, a retirement community, a 270,000-square-foot office complex, and a 30-acre public park along the north bank of the Millstone River.
Conceptual renderings of the new hospital showed a curved concave structure facing south, looking over Plainsboro Road and onto the Millstone River, with a scattering of smaller, connected buildings to the north.
A network of parking lots and smaller roadways circles the hospital facility, with the skilled nursing facility and office complex built south of Plainsboro Road, and the hospital and retirement community on the north of the roadway.
A subcommittee — led by Planning Board member Tom Hall — developed the plan, holding several workshops and meeting with hospital officials and consultants along the way.
The plan took into account what township officials said they wanted in using the redevelopment process, according to Mr. Hall.
”We wanted to put in the public park, which was a key goal, and we wanted a circulation plan so traffic could move quickly and easily throughout the complex and surrounding area,” said Mr. Hall. “And we wanted a very attractive site.”
Now the Planning Board’s recommendation will ultimately be up to the Township Committee to accept, but the presentation and endorsement were still a major step, according to township officials.
”It was a very important act, for the Planning Board to accept the plan and recommend it to the Township Committee,” said Mr. Sheehan. “But only the Township Committee will have the ability to adopt the plan.”
Earlier ideas for the 19-building site had current owner FMC Corp. remaining in some buildings, which would not be demolished during construction of the hospital.
That has changed, with all 19 structures now slated for removal in the redevelopment plan presented Monday.
”FMC wants to stay on the site for a portion of the time while the hospital gets started,” said Mr. Hall. “They may become a tenant in the office building at the end of the process.”
The redevelopment plan does include specific design guidelines that the hospital, as the developer, has accepted. Any deviations from those design standards would require further discussion with Plainsboro officials, Mr. Hall said.
The township first pursued the redevelopment designation because of perceived advantages the redevelopment process would provide in empowering Plainsboro during planning for the property and its future occupant.
Redevelopment differs greatly from regular planning work because it provides municipalities greater rights as a partner with developers, according to Mr. Hall.
”Normally you set the parameters, but whatever shows up, that’s what you end up with,” Mr. Hall said.
But the redevelopment designation allowed the township to set the specific design guidelines, according to Mr. Hall, who said it was almost like allowing the township to determine portions of the regular site-plan process, seen whenever any applicant comes to the township to develop a property.
”This was a partnership,” said Mr. Hall. “We took the hospital’s plans, and discussed what is it that Plainsboro wants.”
Other portions of the plan called for bicycle and pedestrian connections with the Plainsboro Village Center.
Hospital officials said Plainsboro was continuing with planning ideas the township has long had for the FMC property.
”This is a process that started years ago,” said Pam Hersh, vice president for government and community affairs for Princeton HealthCare System. “They started rezoning this land long before we were even a glimmer in their eye.”
A vote on the redevelopment plan will be on the agenda of the Township Committee in January.
