|
|
Vol. LXII, No. 5
|
|
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
|
|
|
|
Vol. LXII, No. 5
|
|
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
|
The proposed Nassau Inn expansion is just the tip of the iceberg.
Several major developments are primed to break ground in downtown Princeton this year, and municipal officials are calling on Borough government to start thinking creatively about parking, and lots of it.
There are 100 residential units slated to come to undeveloped land on Palmer Square’s Hulfish North, and 53 units planned for development on the Tulane Street surface lot. Combine that with Nassau Inn’s proposed expansion for conference, reception, and retail space, and some officials are wondering aloud if the Borough can handle it.
Earlier this month, Marvin Reed, a member of the Regional Planning Board of Princeton member and a former Borough mayor, urged Borough Council to take initiative before the Borough’s parking situation deteriorated. Mr. Reed’s comments were in the context of the Planning Board’s review of a minor change at Labyrinth Books on Nassau Street, but were designed to paint a bigger picture. “In the last several years, buildings downtown have been sold and bought, but it is difficult to understand how those buyers could anticipate paying the price they did for those buildings without thinking about expansion,” Mr. Reed said “It begs the question: how can the Borough anticipate accommodating expansion without overloading the parking system?”
The sale of 80 Nassau Street, the building that formerly housed Hinkson’s, fetched nearly $6 million: good news, Mr. Reed reported, and that’s just one example. Several buildings downtown have been purchased for “what appear to be fairly high, but good prices for downtown commercial spaces, and that shows that downtown is very valuable property.”
The Labyrinth Books application, which sought to add more retail space in its basement, thus requiring more parking, was approved under the assurance that the independent bookstore’s affiliate, Princeton University, would provide off-site employee parking. “That sounded reasonable, but we had to make sure to see a management plan, and then make sure the Borough would be part of the management of that plan.”
The Planning Board agreed to have Borough Hall make sure that the jitney the University uses to meet some parking requirements, operates well, and “is actually being used by those employees, and not having them overload the parking demand in the downtown area,” Mr. Reed said.
The University’s shuttle system, the former mayor added, could become a model for future shuttle necessities, including those suggested by the question of whether future development on the Merwick and YM/YWCA site in the Borough could also accommodate parking for downtown employees. “If that actually materializes, then we have to have the precedent and the system by which people are able to depend upon that kind of off-site parking,” Mr. Reed said.
While the Borough could at some point explore new parking facilities, nothing is planned yet. The Borough has roughly 1,700 municipal parking spaces, a number that includes the Spring Street municipal garage, but does not include private parking decks on Palmer Square.
“Are we going to need more parking in the future? Yes,” said Borough administrator Robert Bruschi, adding that while the municipal staff was exploring “a number of alternatives, we’re not ready to build another garage.” Mr. Bruschi said that although he was encouraged by the continued investment downtown, from a development standpoint, “I’m not so sure how long people will invest if they can’t expand.” The planned Borough jitney “will help,” he added, particularly when the municipal shuttle ties in with the campus system. “Not every property is conducive to onsite parking. In fact, very few are,” Mr. Bruschi said, echoing Mr. Reed’s assertion: “If you’re going to spend money on an old building, then you want to renovate and make it bigger. We need to get creative.”