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Vol. LXII, No. 4
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
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Vol. LXII, No. 4
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
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A plan to expand the Nassau Inn in downtown Princeton could provide the Borough landmark the room it needs to compete with hotels and conference centers on the Route 1 corridor, but, as is the case with any development prospect downtown, parking will likely be a particular concern.
Nassau Inn representatives acknowledged that parking could be a potential obstacle Thursday, in a concept presentation before the Regional Planning Board of Princeton, but said that a comprehensive parking plan would accompany any formal development application. That formal plan could be submitted to the municipal planning department as early as February, hotel officials said.
Despite parking concerns, however, board members responded favorably to the hotel’s first major expansion in over 20 years. The expansion plan, which is a continuation of an approved, but unexecuted, redevelopment plan from 1998, envisions a six-story addition along Hulfish Street at the site of an existing plaza and loading dock, and the renovation of 84 existing rooms. In the room renovation portion of the plan, the Inn actually anticipates removing 28 rooms in favor of more spacious quarters. The ground level would include retail space.
Along Palmer Square West, the plan outlines the demolition of the existing wing that houses Lindt Chocolate, and replacing it with a three-story building with ground floor retail. That area would also include a new entrance to the Yankee Doodle Tap Room, as well as an eight-table, 32-seat, outdoor dining area.
The expansion, if approved, would be implemented in three phases, said Nassau Inn attorney Thomas Letizia, pointing to a favorable review from the Borough’s Historic Preservation Review Committee two weeks ago. The Nassau Inn is located in the Borough’s Central Business District, which has historic designation and requires additional zoning oversight.
No additional parking information was provided Thursday, but Mr. Letizia said that the Inn would provide a parking management plan upon formal application submission. Eighty-one parking spaces are required for the amount of redevelopment eyed by the hotel.
Thomas Perrino, principal of the Trenton-based Spiezle Group, the architectural firm contracted by the Nassau Inn for the proposed project, said his firm and hotel officials had discussed building using the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design) standards, and that a formal plan would address the feasibility of LEED.
The Inn’s presentation, however, opened the window slightly to a larger discussion on parking policy in the Borough’s CBD. Planning Board member and former Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said Borough Council would have to take initiative in dealing with potential parking problems, posed not only by Nassau Inn, but also by new development on Palmer Square along Paul Robeson Place, as well as by new development slated for Tulane Street.