Demolition of the Butler Tract, home for almost 70 years to Princeton University graduate students, began this week. The University received a permit to take down 17 of the barracks-like units on the property bordered by Hartley Avenue, Sycamore Road, Longview Drive, and South Harrison Street.

The 33-acre site will likely be turned into housing, but the University’s Board of Trustees will make the final decision, according to Kristin Appelget, the school’s director of community and regional affairs. The development was originally built as temporary housing after World War II for returning veterans. More modular units were added in 1988. Graduate students and their families now live in Lakeside, the complex along Faculty Road that the school opened early this year.

Demolition of the Butler Tract, which includes about 115 structures, Ms. Appelget said, should take several months. The University has been holding meetings with residents of the neighborhood, some of whom have voiced worries about the process.

“The neighbors are obviously concerned about the impact of the demolition, the noise, and possible environmental consequences,” said Sally Goldfarb, who is part of the Riverside Neighborhood Association. “The community is also concerned about the short term and long term use of the land once the buildings are gone. We hope to continue working with officials from the University as well as municipal officials to ensure the entire process serves the needs of the community as well as the University.”

The plan announced this past summer is for existing roads to stay in place after the demolition. Wood stockade fencing will remain, and gates will be installed at entrances and exits to the site so that cars cannot drive through.

“We had a meeting with the University on December 1, and they said they will plant meadow grass where the buildings were,” said Ms. Goldfarb. “They will leave the roads in place and won’t build immediately, so there won’t be structures on that tract for some years.”

In the meantime, the University has said the site will be used for event parking. The final plans for the tract will be worked out as part of the school’s campus plan for 2026. “When the buildings are demolished, this will become one of the largest, if not the largest, plots of land in Princeton,” said Ms. Goldfarb. “So it will be very important that it is properly maintained. And it is extremely important to think carefully about the planning process for putting new buildings in that location. This is an opportunity for the University and the town to come up with approaches that are mutually beneficial.”