Princeton’s Planning Board voted unanimously last week in favor of a plan to allow a 7-Eleven to move into the former West Coast Video location at 259 East Nassau Street. The convenience store would be located in the front of the building, while the Princeton branch of the U.S. Post Office would move into the rear. The Post Office would vacate its long-time location on Palmer Square.

The Nassau Street property has been mostly vacant for a decade. Owned by the Bratman family, who ran a Viking Furniture store there for several years, it was originally an auto dealership in the 1920’s and has also housed a Johanna Farms, Eckerd Drugs, Wawa convenience store, and a laundromat during the past decades.

The store would occupy 4,945 square feet, while the post office would take up 3,505 square feet. 7-Eleven would not alter the footprint of the building, but plans to make small improvements, said the town’s planning director Lee Solow, at the meeting March 19. The parking lot would be resealed and restriped.

Additional landscaping would be added to act as a buffer to homes on Murray Place that back up to the site. Some residents of that street voiced concerns at the meeting, particularly about lighting, privacy, and the possibility of rats and other vermin around the garbage disposal area. “Please investigate this personally before you decide,” said resident Elizabeth Chang, who was especially worried about the height of the buffer zone.

The convenience store was represented at the meeting by an attorney, engineer, and traffic consultant. Stuart Kimmel of the 7-Eleven company told one resident who was concerned about children crossing the street in front of the store that stop signs and a striped crosswalk are part of the plan. He assured those worried about the garbage bins that trash would be picked up two or three times a week. He also said he understands the neighbors’ concerns.

“We don’t want rodents,” he said. “That doesn’t help our business. We are not going to allow an overflow situation. We will increase the pickups if needed.”

Since the early 20th century, Princeton University has owned a driveway that runs between the property and the one next door, which is owned by Lou Carnevale and most recently housed the Wild Oats market. Since a lot of foot and bicycle traffic is expected at the site, the town asked 7-Eleven to consider installing a sidewalk from Nassau Street into the site and through to the University, at the rear of the property. Planner David Cohen and resident Kip Cherry each expressed concerns about traffic jams because of cars entering and exiting the site.

The 7-Eleven would be open according to the town’s ordinance, adopted in December, that prohibits any retail establishment touching a residential zone from operating between the hours of two and five a.m. The post office would have hours between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. It would be closed Sundays.