By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
Reuse of municipal buildings was the topic of discussion at Princeton Future this weekend.
Sites such as the firehouses, public works buildings and the Valley Road School were talked about and logistics issues such as the parking of public works equipment and school buses were discussed in the community room of the Princeton Public Library on March 17.
One purpose of the building presentation by local architect Kristen Thoft was to examine the way local buildings are positioned and how they are situated with each other.
One of the most misused sites in town is the John Street public works facility, which is a parking lot for equipment and houses the salt and sand dome, said Valerie Haynes, a member of the Joint Shared Services Consolidation Commission (JSSCC), who spoke about some of the properties the JSSCC looked at.
She said the JSSCC thought there were better uses for the site, possibly affordable housing or expanding the nearby neighborhood community garden.
Participants were encouraged to rethink how buildings are used for possible reuses.
”Reusing buildings is a whole pasture of sacred cows,” said Jim Constantine, Princeton Future board member, reminding attendees to keep open minds. “We might have different ideas in the room for places we already know.”
Examples included a school that was reused as a community center with theaters and firehouses that became bakeries, breweries or restaurants.
One consensus among many attendees was the community really needs to define what it wants and plan as a whole instead of looking at fragmented pieces and individual buildings.
Borough Hall, the firehouses and Valley Road School were examined in smaller groups at break-out tables.
Community priorities were identified the need for affordable housing, a community center, a capital improvement plan, a land use strategy for emergency services, waste and trash issues and the best use for Valley Road, were among the top items on the lengthy list.
Ideas for Borough Hall included mainly civic uses, using it as a tourist center and connecting it with Morven Museum next door, a post office, chamber of commerce, expanded senior services programs into spaces inside the building, teen center, cooperative for space, back up communications for emergencies, or offer more parking for First Church of Christ Scientist.
The discussion about the best uses for the firehouses not only focused on the buildings, but on what do about the school buses that are parked behind the Witherspoon Street firehouse. One possible solution offered was to privatize the school bus service.
Suggestions for the post office, which is currently up for sale and has six bids in the works, included a social gathering space for teens to go to combat the drug problem in town or space for a private package delivery service or exhibit space for local merchants who have goods to sell out of their home or online to showcase their wares.
Sustainability was also discussed and put forth as a priority for any reuses moving forward.
