The Princeton Planning Board approved Developer PIP Commercial LLC’s application to build a four-unit apartment building on a vacant lot at 40-42 North Tulane St. at the board’s Dec. 12 meeting.
The four apartments will each consist of a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
There will be parking for five vehicles, plus indoor parking for six bicycles. Additional outdoor parking for bicycles has been included.
The lot at 40-42 North Tulane St. has been vacant since the developer withdrew a previously approved application for a 14-unit apartment building. It called for retaining the existing building and constructing a four-story addition, along with 1,100 square feet of commercial or office space.
The 14-unit apartment building, which was approved by the Planning Board in March 2022, would have set aside three apartments for low- and moderate-income households. The rest of the units would have been rented at market rates.
The property was not zoned for 14 apartments, but the town’s Affordable Housing Overlay-1 zone permitted it. An overlay zone allows for optional development plans under certain circumstances. In this case, it was to help the town meet its requirement to provide affordable housing.
In July 2023, it was observed that half of the building that was required to be retained had been demolished. The demolition work had been done without the issuance of any municipal or demolition permits, according to a memorandum from Planning Director Justin Lesko.
A stop-work order was issued by the Princeton Building Department. The applicant was advised that it could apply for a modification to the approved site plan in an attempt to salvage the rest of the building and use the AHO-1 zone, Lesko said.
PIP Commercial LLC submitted a site plan application for the modification in August 2023, but then withdrew it, Lesko said. A demolition application was submitted in October 2023, and the rest of the building was torn down.
The demolition of the existing building meant that the earlier approval for a 14-unit apartment building was no longer valid – and that is what led to the application for a four-unit apartment building.
