Downtown Buildings Preparing for New Tenants

Dilshanie Perera

The first tenants at 25 Spring Street could move in as early as this weekend while the first occupants of the townhouses along Chambers Street and Paul Robeson place may arrive as soon as August. Developer Jack Morrison and Sales Manager Jay Goldberg highlighted the news about their respective downtown edifices during Tuesday’s meeting of the Princeton Merchants Association (PMA).

The last phase of the downtown redevelopment project, that was called Building C, is now 25 Spring Street, a five-story, 72,000-square-foot structure containing 52 apartments and an exercise room with retail at street level.

Mr. Morrison announced that the ground floor would be comprised of three retail operations, the largest being a 6,000-square-foot “food emporium” also described as an “Italian speciality food market” where fresh mozzarella and homemade sausages will be among the items available.

Final layouts of the cases and displays are scheduled for Wednesday, Mr. Morrison said, adding that the store “will be a regional draw,” attracting customers from further afield as well. The establishment is scheduled to open by September 1.

CoolVines, the wine store owned by local merchant and president of the PMA Mark Censits, will move to the ground floor of 25 Spring Street. During the meeting, Mr. Censits remarked that plans for the establishment to move into the completed building have been in the works since 2006 when he first met Mr. Morrison.

The third commercial occupant will be a full service dry cleaners and concierge shop. Tom Janick of Craft Cleaners, an eco-friendly dry cleaning service on Nassau Street, explained that the public “needed those services downtown.” Residents and other patrons will be able to drop off their dry cleaning at 25 Spring Street, and also have shoe repairs and alterations done there. Technology will be implemented so that if customers call or text ahead of their arrival, curbside pickup of clothing would be possible, Mr. Janick said.

The concierge service would initially be available only to building residents, but may expand into an errand service for business owners and area residents, Mr. Janick noted, adding that those who use it would purchase blocks of time.

The ten units in the building set aside as affordable comprise a combination of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. Residents who qualify for the housing will be selected by lottery, explained Mr. Morrison, telling the merchants that it would be an asset to “have your managers be able to live and work in town and be a part of the community.” A one-bedroom affordable unit would cost between $850 and $875 per month, he estimated.

For information about qualifying for affordable housing, visit princetonboro.org and search for “Affordable Rental Application.”

With 22 signed leases, Mr. Morrison said that with requisite approvals the first tenants at the site may move in this weekend.

The Residences at Palmer Square are waiting for state approvals before they are able to engage in broader marketing efforts and sign contracts with buyers. Mr. Goldberg, who is also a managing partner of Stasse and Company, noted that nine clients have made reservations to date and that once approvals are granted, contracts will be written up. He anticipated that the first residents will move in by August.

Of the 100 total units being built between Chambers Street, Paul Robeson Place, and Witherspoon Street, 17 will be townhouses and 83 will be condominiums. All are luxury residences, with the townhouses ranging in size from 2,500 to 3,200 square feet (not including the unfinished basement space) and priced between $1.6 and $2.5 million. The condominiums will be between 1,650 and 3,200 square feet ranging in price from $1.2 to $3 million.

Mr. Goldberg added that the building closest to Witherspoon Street would contain three units, with one 3,400 square foot space on the ground floor and two duplexes of 3,900 square feet above.

All the townhouses will have private elevators, and each condominium building will have its own elevator as well. “The goal was to support aging in place,” Mr. Goldberg noted.

The development team for the residences includes Palmer Square Management; Minno and Wasko Architects and Planners, who also worked on phase I of the downtown development; MOD Construction Services, who did likewise; Tom Stearns Associates for the landscape architecture; and Stasse and Company as the sales organization.

For a video rendering of what the Residences will look like, visit palmersquareresidences.com.

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