Buddy, can you spare $43 million?
That’s the estimated price tag to build a new Department of Public Works (DPW) facility at the town’s Sewer Operating Commission (SOC) site on River Road.
Planning for a DPW facility has been in the works for several years and the Princeton Council has authorized consultant USA Architects and subconsultant Artheon to enter into the design phase for it.
Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton walked the Princeton Council through the latest version of the proposed DPW facility. It would combine the functions at the John Street and North Harrison Street sites at the River Road site.
The DPW headquarters is located at 303 John St., near the Community Park School. There are offices, a break room, a locker room, a storage dome for road salt, materials storage, vehicle storage and indoor equipment storage.
The North Harrison Street site, next to the former Princeton Hook & Ladder Co. firehouse, functions as the vehicle maintenance garage. It holds fleets part storage, backup diesel fueling, indoor vehicle storage, indoor building material storage and the carpenter shop.
The SOC property on River Road has an outdoor vehicle washing station, indoor and outdoor construction materials storage, dumpsters, indoor vehicle storage, police storage and police outdoor training facilities.
The need for a consolidated DPW facility was identified in the 1996 Princeton Community Master Plan, Stockton told the Princeton Council.
The 1996 Princeton Community Master Plan noted that the DPW facilities in the former Princeton Borough and former Princeton Township were deficient and that relocation should be considered, Stockton said.
“That history matters because the (current) project responds to a long-standing operational need rather than a newly created one,” she said.
Between 2008 and 2010, the former Princeton Borough and former Princeton Township completed a master plan and preliminary design of a combined DPW facility on the River Road site, but it was never implemented.
Fast forward to 2025, and the need for a new DPW facility became urgent. The John Street and North Harrison Street properties have been identified as sites for the development of affordable housing, Stockton said.
“Moving ahead, before you is a concept plan (for the River Road site). This is probably our fourth or fifth rendition of a concept plan. It is the concept plan that we have been working on over the last nine months, but it is still not set in stone,” Stockton said.
The concept plan shows a 30,000-square-foot, minimally-heated storage garage; an 8,400-square-foot office building; a 12,000-square-foot maintenance garage with a wash bay; a 2,400-square-foot materials shed and a 6,100-square-foot road salt storage dome.
The building and site improvements, which also include a small police evidence shed, are estimated to cost about $32.5 million. When engineering design services and escalation are added, the total cost is $43.2 million.
Princeton Councilwoman Mia Sacks said the DPW staff has been working in trailers at the John Street site since 1996. It is not a respectful way to treat an integral and valued part of the town’s employees.
“This is really a top priority,” Sacks said.
Mayor Mark Freda said the thought of creating a DPW facility on River Road is ancient history. The former Princeton Borough and former Princeton Township tried to figure out how to develop a joint facility on River Road, but it fell apart because they were trying to do it together. The two towns consolidated in 2013 to become the Municipality of Princeton.
“There’s a whole bunch of reasons to do this (DPW facility) – affordable housing obligations, but just the fact that our staff and our operations cannot work effectively out of the places they are in now,” Freda said.
The tentative timeline anticipates going out for bids in 2027 or possibly 2028. Construction would begin in 2028, but it is not known how long it would take. It may be possible for the project to be completed by 2029, officials said.
