BREAKING NEW GROUND: After many years of discussion, design, and redesign; digging officially began July 26 for the Copperwood community with the help of those who were instrumental in its development. From left: J. Robert Hillier, architect and developer; Michael Lee of Costanza Builders; Phyllis Marchand, former Princeton Township mayor; Chad Goerner, current Township mayor; Michele Byers, executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation; and Wendy Mager, president of Friends of Princeton Open Space. (Photo by Jeff Tryon)

Last week’s groundbreaking for Copperwood, the senior housing development on Bunn Drive, marked the end of a lengthy process that involved years of deliberation and debate. Along the way, a somewhat adversarial relationship between the architect/developer and the co-founder of a citizens’ organization committed to preserving the wooded site evolved into a kind of mutual admiration society.

J. Robert Hillier, the architect/developer (and Town Topics shareholder), had only the warmest praise for Daniel Harris, co-founder of People for Princeton Ridge, Inc., at the groundbreaking ceremony. In turn, Mr. Harris spoke effusively of Mr. Hillier a few days later. “It needs to be said that Bob was not only thoroughly cooperative with our group, but with community interests altogether,” Mr. Harris said. “He really  understood that this is what building in Princeton needs to be right now.”

Along with others involved in the developing of the rental community, Mr. Hillier and Mr. Harris met several times to try to fine-tune the design. Key to the project were energy-saving and sustainability techniques espoused by Mr. Harris and his wife, Jane Buttars, co-founder of People for the Princeton Ridge. They and other environmentalists had concerns about the many trees on the tract, some of which are over 100 years old. They also worried about storm-water runoff from the property’s steep slopes. “The public health danger to the community downstream was immense,” Mr. Harris recalled. “So this was a matter of public health as well as public policy.”

Eventually, Mr. Hillier arrived at a plan for a smaller footprint than originally proposed for the active adult community, clustering five buildings on three acres of the 21-acre site. Two of the buildings will have three floors, and three will have four stories. Small walkways, gardens, and piazzas will separate the buildings. Amenities will include a fitness center, cafe lounge/library, and a lecture/meeting room, all surrounding a central piazza with a fountain.

The history of trying to build senior housing on the site known as the Lowe tract, goes back to 2005, when builder K. Hovnanian first obtained approval. But Hovnanian pulled out of the deal, enabling Mr. Hillier to proceed with a plan for a smaller project. Construction of Copperwood will disturb 20 percent of the site, while the original Hovnanian plan would have disturbed almost 80 percent. The remaining lands will be put into conservation in perpetuity. A total of 396 trees will be removed, to be replaced with 241 new trees.

“We knew what the concerns were, so we came up with a design that made it a more tightly-knit kind of village,” Mr. Hillier said this week. “Every time we were able to do those redesigns, more woods got saved.”

While the environmental group at first objected to any building at all on Princeton Ridge, they now welcome the Hillier plan. “This is the greenest building that has ever gone up in Princeton,” Mr. Harris said. “Bob gets an enormous amount of credit for doing this, and we get credit also for educating the community about green buildings and LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design]. These buildings have green roofs. They are watered by gray water that is recycled within the building. The building’s facade materials are reflective, so they will push away heat.”

At the groundbreaking, Mr. Hillier announced that there was a waiting list of 165 people for the development’s 153 units. By early this week, that number had jumped to 177. “There has never been anything like this in Princeton. What this means is that older folks can now live in town, and yet downsize,” he said. “There is no decent, new, modern place for people to downsize to, relieving them of maintenance and things like taking care of lawns. Now, they don’t have to leave town.”

Units will range from 718 to 1,296 square feet. Twelve will be affordable housing. Tenants can choose from one, three, and five-year leases. Rents are expected to range from about $1,900 to $3,600 a month. Princeton has senior affordable housing, but Copperwood is the first market-rate senior housing development in the town.

For Mr. Harris, the development process represents a model of public/private citizen partnership. “Hillier’s cooperation is a model of what every developer in Princeton should do, and what every developer in Princeton should be urged if not required to do by Princeton elected officials,” he said, “including present applicants.”