By Anne Levin

Following a prolonged discussion, Princeton Council voted at its February 26 meeting to allow the Graduate Hotel to maintain the work zone on Chambers Street through May 16, which is more than two months longer than previously scheduled. That means the street will remain one-way going north until the hotel opens for business on that date.

Much anticipated, the hotel’s opening is delayed due to structural issues in the front part of the hotel, an existing building at 20 Nassau Street. Opening up the street to two-way traffic was not considered a viable alternative at this point, since it would likely entail periodic closures.

“We looked at numerous, numerous options to try and avoid this,” said Pablo David, representing the hotel. “We know that it has been an inconvenience to many of the residents, people who live, work, and play in the downtown. This is the quickest, most efficient way to get us off the street and the hotel opened.”

Council members and Mayor Mark Freda were not pleased at the request. “This is the second time you have come to us with a choice that is not really a choice,” said Councilwoman Eve Niedergang, referring to the developer’s request nearly two years ago to change the plan of keeping Chambers Street two-way during construction, changing it to one-way. “I’m frustrated on behalf of the people this is impacting,” Niedergang continued, suggesting that the developers might offer compensation in the form of a corporate contribution to a community cause. David replied that he could not answer that request “on the fly.”

Freda said the situation should have been revealed months earlier, “as soon as you guys hit these roadblocks with the structural problems in the front building.” Councilwoman Leticia Fraga said the construction and frequent closures have made travel on Chambers Street dangerous. Kristin Appelget, who heads Princeton University’s Office of Community and Regional Affairs, also spoke of feeling unsafe both traveling in her car and walking on the street.

Councilman Leighton Newlin said he was in favor of granting David’s request. “Finish it, and let’s open it up,” he said of the hotel. “It may be a little frustrating, but the most important thing is to get it open. I would sign up for 70 more days of grinning and bearing it.”

Loading a sustainable green roof and a backup generator onto the hotel’s roof are among the parts of the project still to be done, requiring special safety measures. Jim Purcell, Princeton’s assistant municipal engineer, said this week that safety and efficiency were the reasons for the request.

“It wasn’t anything we expected,” he said. “We had anticipated that major construction work would be done by the end of December [2023], and the rest of the stuff could be done using their driveway and motor court turnaround. But it’s just not practical. There is not enough space. When they started renovating the interior of the old building, they discovered that it wasn’t structurally sound enough. So they had to do some work that affected the whole project. There are some little things that caused delays as well.”

The Graduate Hotel is part of a chain of themed hotels in college towns across the country and abroad. The May 16 date for opening — 10 days before Commencement activities begin at Princeton University — is firm, David assured.

Freda said, “Just to make this formal and have it on the record, May 16 is the date. That means May 17, the road is open.”