The Princeton Council has introduced an ordinance to adopt a redevelopment plan for the former Princeton Theological Seminary property on Stockton Street, between Edgehill Street and a small area west of Hibben Road.
The ordinance was introduced at the Princeton Council’s July 8 meeting, and a public hearing on the ordinance is set for the Princeton Council’s July 22 meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
The 4.8-acre site was deemed a non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment in 2018, following a study of the parcels by the Princeton Planning Board that was made at the request of the Princeton Council.
The Princeton Council formally designated it as a non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment in October 2018. A redevelopment plan prepared by planning consultants Kyle McManus Associates, was released on July 1.
In the interim, the buildings on the Princeton Theological Seminary campus – Roberts Hall, Tennent Hall and Whitely Gymnasium – were demolished. A house at 92 Stockton St., which belongs to the seminary and is included in the redevelopment area, was preserved, but two smaller houses on Hibben Road were torn down.
Under the July 1 redevelopment plan, up to 238 housing units may be built on the property – excluding the existing house at 92 Stockton St. and two houses that may be built behind it. A minimum of 20% of the apartment units must be set aside for low- and moderate-income households.
A concept plan shows four multi-family buildings scattered across the site. The buildings would be built to a maximum height of 56 feet. Most of the parking, including charging stations for electric vehicles, would be built underneath the apartment houses.
The house at 92 Stockton St., on the corner of Stockton Street and Edgehill Street, would be preserved. Two single-family houses would be built on Edgehill Street, behind the house at 92 Stockton St. A small surface parking lot would be built nearby.
There are provisions for long-term and short-term bicycle parking. The plan calls for the long-term bicycle parking spaces to be protected from the weather, possibly inside the apartment buildings. Of the yet-to-be determined number of bicycle parking spaces, 80% would be long term and 20% would be short term.
There are specific goals of the redevelopment plan. Among those goals is to increase the number of affordable housing units on the west side of Princeton, and to provide a new opportunity for multi-family residential development within walking distance of the Central Business District and the Princeton University campus.
Another goal is to provide higher-density, compact development in close proximity to the Central Business District and transit opportunities. It would reduce dependence on cars and also support greenhouse gas reductions in line with the Princeton Climate Action Plan.
The Princeton Theological Seminary was founded in Princeton in 1812, according to the Kyle McManus Associates’ redevelopment plan. It underwent an expansion in the 1800s as a Presbyterian school to educate ministers. It expanded again in the 1930s onto what was known as the Tennent-Roberts campus on land that was acquired from The Hun School.
A satellite campus was created in West Windsor Township in the 20th century. The seminary has experienced declining enrollment and sought to consolidate its land holdings, which in turn led to its sale to a would-be developer.
