By Anne Levin

At its meeting Monday evening, December 11, members of Princeton Council had a chance to question Princeton University administrators about the school’s plans for expansion over the next 10 years. Originally announced last April, an updated version of the proposal, with some new details, was released last week.

While generally enthusiastic about the ambitious framework for several development projects that will accommodate a larger undergraduate student body and reach beyond the current campus to University-owned property south of Lake Carnegie, the governing body posed questions about the project’s size, scope, and relationship to the town.

University Architect Ron McCoy and Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee stressed repeatedly that the proposal is just that, and not a final document. Release of the plan last week marked “a milestone in the process, but not its end,” said Durkee. “The framework is intended to be revisable over time. While it presents options for developments in 10 years, we know things will change over time.”

The proposal would require rezoning in some areas, including a mixed-use site that would have housing for up to 500 graduate students and postdoctoral
researchers, athletic facilities, retail space, academic and administrative buildings, and a transit hub with shuttle, pedestrian, and bicycle connections to the rest of the campus.

Council President Jenny Crumiller asked about plans for Harrison Street at U.S. 1. “It may be time to go back to conversations about doing an overpass at Harrison to improve traffic on Route 1,” Durkee said. But that idea is “down the road a bit,” he added, and not specifically in the plan.

Councilman Bernie Miller commented that reconfiguring that end of Harrison Street “solves a problem that has plagued both West Windsor and Princeton for a long, long time,” he said. “It tends to go under water, and in some of the most severe storms has cut the town off from access to the new hospital. By relocating it you have solved another problem you might not have tried to solve.”

Cyndi Rottenberg Walker of Urban Strategies, the Toronto consulting firm that has been advising the University on the plan, said that the flooding problem was an issue that they have taken into consideration.

Councilman Tim Quinn asked for clarity as to whether the potential hotel mentioned in the plan would be in West Windsor or Princeton. “There is no clarity as to whether there would be a hotel,” Durkee responded. “Both are identified as places you could imagine a hotel at some point, if a hotel made sense at some point,” adding that rezoning would be needed if a hotel was located on Alexander Street on the Princeton side of U.S. 1.

Councilman Lance Liverman asked whether local residents would be able to use new athletic facilities proposed for relocation to the Lake Campus, the way they currently use Dillon Gym. Durkee said, “Whether over time there are ways to work with other local entities to make use of the spaces is something we’d have to look at,” adding, “The vision for the Lake Campus is not just for the University, but for the wider community.”

Mayor Liz Lempert said she was especially excited about the transportation piece of the proposed plan, which stresses a movement away from single occupancy vehicles to a focus on walking, cycling, shuttling, and mass transit. “The town is about to embark on a climate action plan,” she added. “What is the best way for us to work together both on the sustainability and the transportation?”

Durkee said the University is currently completing a 2018 report on sustainability. “But we can begin to share what we’ve done as knowledge. It might be the beginning of a way we can work together.” McCoy is scheduled to attend a meeting of the Princeton Environmental Commission early next year to talk about how the town and the University can partner on the issue.