Rutgers Study Group Eyes Changes for Shopping Center

Matthew Hersh

A studio in advanced landscape architecture at Rutgers University will appear this Thursday before the Princeton Regional Planning Board to initiate discussion regarding how the Princeton Shopping Center can be reconstructed and improved.

Carlos Rodrigues, manager of Plan Implementation at the Office of Smart Growth at New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs, said the Shopping Center was targeted because local officials were interested in seeing the findings of the study, and because the facility is regarded by many as antiquated.

"There is clearly the capacity to intensify the Princeton Shopping Center property," Mr. Rodrigues said. He cited a development proposal from the Princeton Shopping Center Co., which would add 150 units of senior housing, 48 apartments, and about 100,000 square feet of office space, along with structured parking.

But in a public forum held in December that involved residents of the area that immediately surrounds the Shopping Center, concerns were raised about the scale and intensity of the development proposal.

"Redevelopment in the Shopping Center is an opportunity to make it work better," said Mr. Rodrigues who, along with co-instructor Steve Strom, teaches the Cook College class at Rutgers. Representatives of the Princeton Shopping Center have responded favorably, albeit tentatively, in the unsolicited study endeavor. Chris Hannington, general manager of the Princeton Shopping Center, said she is looking forward to Thursday's presentation and will view the findings with an open mind.

"We are intrigued and perhaps we'll be inspired," she said, adding that the Shopping Center is currently involved in its own facade redevelopment project, which is currently in its design stage. It would be the first major facade change at the facility since 1990. However, she said the renovations are neither "radical or drastic," but simply a "freshening up."

While anticipating Mr. Rodrigues' findings, Ms. Hannington did recognize the fact that there may not be a tremendous amount of public support behind changing the 1950s-developed facility. She said many residents who use the center do not find themselves inconvenienced. Contrarily, the general manager said people use the center because it is often a more convenient destination than downtown Princeton.

"The Shopping Center works for [Princetonians], and they understand it," she said.

Dana Comfort, of George Comfort & Sons, the Manhattan-based management agent of the Shopping Center, has also expressed interest in improving the mall, but has remained guarded until there is some considerable feedback from the community.

"We definitely thought there were some interesting ideas among [the study group's] plans," he said. Beyond that, Mr. Comfort said he would wait for the presentation which he said he hopes will garner response from the community.

Mr. Rodrigues said that because the Shopping Center functions as more than a typical strip mall, updates are required to keep the complex as effective as possible. "It already has diversified beyond the narrower scope of a conventional shopping center and delivers functions that are akin to functions served in a real town center," he said. He cited the library, doctors' offices, grocery stores, the Grover Park playing fields, and special activities held in the courtyard such as evening concerts in the summer.

Built in 1956, the Princeton Shopping Center is relatively antiquated and small (215,000 square feet) by today's standard for a town center. The ring-shaped facility accommodates 1,263 cars, however, circulation continues to be a problem for drivers to the center.

While successful, Mr. Rodrigues contends that the center is an "underutilized parcel in the heart of a relatively dense center." Both Princeton Township and Borough constitute a "regional center" in the New Jersey State Plan framework.

The study group will present its findings to the Planning Board Thursday, February 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Township Municipal Complex.