A three-block section of Witherspoon Street, between Green Street and Lytle Street, may be transformed if Princeton officials approve of plans proposed by the Princeton-based Hillier Properties LLC.
The Princeton Historic Preservation Commission will review plans for the demolition, renovation and expansion of four sites at two back-to-back special meetings Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. The meetings start at 5 p.m. and will be held in the main meeting room at the Witherspoon Hall municipal building at 400 Witherspoon St.
This is the second time that the Historic Preservation Commission has scheduled a special meeting to review the proposed development. A meeting had been set for October, but it was canceled at the last minute.
The application proposed by Hillier Properties LLC must be reviewed by the Princeton Historic Preservation Commission because the properties are located in the Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District. The historically Black neighborhood was designated as the town’s 20th local historic district in 2017.
Hillier Properties LLC’s application for preliminary and final site plan approval will be heard by the Princeton Planning Board. No date has been set for the public hearing.
The properties are located at 114-120 Witherspoon St., between Green Street and Quarry Street, and 136-150 Witherspoon St., between Quarry Street and Maclean Street. A single-family house at 7 Quarry St. is included in the proposal.
Also, 184-188 Witherspoon St. and 204-206 Witherspoon St. are part of the application. They are located between Maclean Street and Lytle Street.
The building at 184 Witherspoon St. is historically significant because it was built in 1878 to serve as the town’s Black public school.
Portions of the buildings would be demolished so that three- and four-story apartment buildings can be constructed and attached to them. The front facades of the houses would be restored.
Two buildings at 146 Witherspoon St. and 148-150 Witherspoon St. would be demolished. A new apartment building with commercial space on the first floor would be constructed in their place.
The proposed development would more than double the existing number of rental units – from 32 to 74 rental units – on the four sites, according to documents on file at the Princeton Planning Department.
Of those 74 rental units, 15 units would be set aside for affordable housing. They would be scattered throughout the new development. The rent for the affordable housing units would be based on the tenant’s income.
The 15 affordable housing units include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. They would be earmarked for very low-, low- and moderate-income households. There is a maximum household income to be eligible for an affordable housing unit.
There will be 47 parking spaces scattered among the four sites, including a handful of EV charging stations. The plan includes provisions for bicycle parking in the new apartments.
The Witherspoon Street properties are in the R-4 and RB zones. The proposed development is permitted under the town’s AHO-7 affordable housing overlay zone. The goal is to increase the number of affordable housing units, per a lawsuit settlement that requires the town to provide its fair share of affordable housing.
