By Anne Levin

Is the North Harrison Redevelopment Study Area, which includes Princeton Shopping Center, an “area in need of redevelopment?”

The Princeton Planning Board will take on the question at a special virtual meeting Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. Their recommendation then goes to Princeton Council, which will consider the issue at its meeting on April 26. Visit princetonnj.gov for the links.

The 42.2-acre area in question includes the wooded lot to the north of the shopping center on the corner of Terhune Road and Harrison Street, the shopping center itself, Grover Park, and the three buildings that were formerly occupied by Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad.

Zoning has already been decided for the two affordable housing sites located within this parcel — one at Harrison Street and Terhune Road; the other on the south side of the shopping center, currently a parking lot bordering the Clearview Avenue neighborhood. AvalonBay has been selected by Edens, which owns the shopping center, to develop the latter.

Should the properties be designated as a non-condemnation redevelopment area, the municipality would be able to choose a redeveloper, allowing input on design, parking, circulation, sustainability, and other aspects. The redevelopment authority can also provide tax abatements on improvements and create a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program for the area, with the PILOT money going to the municipality.

Some members of the public have expressed concerns that the designation is not the right path for Princeton to follow. Council members Mia Sacks and David Cohen, who have been working on the issue along with Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, said Monday that they believe there is a misconception that redevelopment is only a response to blight, and can translate to higher property taxes.

“An area in need of redevelopment doesn’t necessarily mean there is blight,” said Sacks. “That was originally what the statute was for, but there is another alternative, which is redevelopment in non-condemnation. We feel strongly that we need to think of this area holistically. The best way is the redevelopment statute.”

Cohen said, “The alternative to redevelopment is sprawl. This is the way we encourage developers to re-use the infrastructure.”

There have also been questions about why Grover Park was included in the properties to be considered. A study conducted by planning consultant Carlos Rodriguez said the park was included because it is adjacent to the shopping center and other properties in the study area, and impacted by them in terms of drainage and circulation.

Design for a Crowded Planet, which is Rodriguez’s firm, undertook the study after Council approved a resolution last December to ask the Planning Board to study the area.

Sacks added in an email on Tuesday, “In 2019, in response to changing market conditions, New Jersey expanded the Local Housing and Redevelopment Law to encourage the redevelopment of underutilized retail districts, shopping centers, and suburban office parks. The law provides municipalities with effective tools for economic revitalization and we are eager to partner with the owners of Princeton Shopping Center in this process.  The PSC has changed very little since it was built in 1953, and it is time to usher it into the 21st century. We look forward to working with the community in a public process to re-envision how the center can best meet the daily needs of today’s residents.”

Built in 1953, the shopping center has a vacancy rate of more than 20 percent. The redevelopment and PILOT process could incentivize the shopping center to make changes that would hopefully result in increased commercial revenue, in turn relieving some of the tax burden on homeowners, the Council members said.

“A co-benefit of the ability to negotiate a PILOT is that it enables the town to use the revenue received in creative ways, such as funding school facility enhancements and upgrades in a more cost effective way,” said Sacks. “Given the Princeton schools’ significant needs, that will increase as children move into the affordable units and enter the schools, this is a crucial aspect of the town’s plan.”

Edens bought the shopping center in 2012, before the town and the state passed some rigorous legislation on stormwater mitigation. The redevelopment designation would enable the town to ask the developers to implement major improvements in controlling the problem, at the shopping center and Grover Park. It could also create opportunities related to design.

“There is a stream that runs under the shopping center, and we are hoping to be able to daylight it,” said Cohen. “It could be such a focus, to have people eating outside, in the courtyard, next to a babbling brook.”

The “area in need” designation would be the first step in a process that must be completed by the Planning Board and Council.

“This is a really exciting thing we’re doing, and we’re trying to get the town excited,” said Sacks. “We feel it is our obligation in setting the town’s future.”