To the Editor;

As the development of the Princeton hospital site moves forward — re: recent Borough Council approval to amend MRRO zone as requested by the developer AvalonBay — it is important that we as a community understand the scale of the proposed development in relation to the adjacent neighborhoods and the town at large. After all, zoning laws are meant to constrain development to conform to community values and to preserve the character of a community.

Three measures can be objectively examined; overall size; height; and length.

1. Overall Size: The scale diagram compares the proposed Avalon Bay development with Princeton stadium and to an entire street in the adjacent neighborhood.

2. Height: The proposed development will be five stories tall along most of its Franklin and Witherspoon Street façades. A to-scale diagram compares a portion of the proposed development’s façade along Franklin with: the Princeton library; the new Palmer Square housing along Paul Robeson; and with some typical homes along Witherspoon and Harris.

3. Overall length: the proposed façade along Franklin will be a continuous building length of 480 feet. There are few buildings of that length anywhere in Princeton. A to-scale comparison shows the proposed length of the Avalon Bay development with a portion of the Library and a portion of Palmer Square housing.

The existing hospital is a very large building. But much of its size is concentrated in a tower form that mitigates its bulk. By any measure the proposed AvalonBay development will be a very large building, if not the largest in Princeton. Although the building will be in the middle of residential neighborhoods, it will be far larger than any building even in the central business district.

I am not opposed to redevelopment of the hospital site. I want everyone to decide for themselves on the appropriateness of having a stadium-sized building along Witherspoon in the middle of Princeton and amidst two vibrant residential neighborhoods.

Joseph H. Weiss

Leigh Avenue