To the Editor:

More than a decade ago a detailed proposal for an assisted-living facility on the one-time “greenbelt” lot between the Princeton Shopping Center and Terhune Road was presented, thoroughly considered, and rejected by Township Committee. Grounds for the rejection were not made public, to my recollection, but two of the principal objections had been the small size of the lot for such a facility and the disadvantageous location — from the perspective of presumably frail and marginally ambulatory elderly residents — immediately adjacent to the shopping center parking lot. In this past Saturday’s mail our household received a “Current Resident” mailing from an entity representing itself as “Sunrise Senior Living” which invited the recipients to a meeting at which “We will discuss our plans to provide high-quality assisted living and memory care services in the heart of Princeton (near Princeton Shopping Center).” The long-ago applicant whose plans were turned down had a similar but not identical corporate name and logo, to the best of my recollection.

The only plot of land “near Princeton Shopping Center” that seems to qualify for housing the described services appears to me to be the one for which such use was rejected the first time it was proposed. It is startling to be abruptly informed that the current developer has reached a state in his planning that suggests he is newly encouraged to feel that the site will now be approved. I have seen no mention of such a proposal in Town Topics or elsewhere, nor of a zoning change that would make such a project acceptable. The lot — my memory claims — is between 900 and 1200 feet long parallel to Terhune and 150 feet deep from Terhune to the shopping center parking lot, or
between about 3 to 4 inconveniently-shaped acres. It was not only rejected previously by the Township for the proposed use, it was “promised” by the original shopping center applicants in the 1950s that it would be maintained as a “green” buffer zone between the shopping center and the surrounding area.

My own frail, elderly, and marginally ambulatory status makes it effectively impossible for me to participate in meetings or other activities related to this proposal, and my wife’s situation is no better than mine. Intensive coverage in the future by Town Topics and attention from interested residents who are younger and more resilient than we are appear to offer our best hope that this apparently-re-proposed departure from previous practice and long-ago commitments will not be permitted.

John Strother

Grover Avenue