Princeton U. Defends Prospect Avenue Plan As Resistance Mounts

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton University has defended its plan for Prospect Avenue after a public petition criticized its proposal to raze three Victorian homes.

Princeton University said that the structures it plans to raze are not in a “historic district.”

“It is important to note that the structures at 110-116 Prospect are not in any historic district,” Michael Hotchkiss, a university spokesperson told Patch in an email.

“And while 91 Prospect is in the New Jersey and National Register-listed Historic District, our plan does not trigger federal, state or local review.”

The petition on change.org called on the University to reconsider the demolition of three Victorian houses on Prospect Avenue as part of its East Campus development plan.

Read More Here: Petition Urges Princeton U. To Not Demolish Three Historic Homes

Princeton University plans to move the Court Clubhouse, a former eating club currently on 91 Prospect Avenue, to the site of the three nineteenth-century homes.

The Court Clubhouse land will then be used as part of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). The University’s plan has been met with resistance from many local residents.

The Princeton Prospect Foundation put together a 19-page presentation on the University’s proposal, and has argued that moving Court Clubhouse across the street would “irreparably” harm “the Historic District and Prospect Avenue streetscape.”

In a memo dated May 18, Princeton municipal staff expressed concern over the University’s plan.

“Considering Sustainable Development, historic preservation, and the priority of preserving and enhancing housing opportunities in Princeton, staff is concerned that three viable residential structures are being razed in order to move a contributing element of the Prospect Avenue row of eating club buildings from its current location,”

The municipal staff also suggested alternatives. “The University should consider retaining 91 Prospect Avenue on the southerly side of the street and incorporating it into the new ES-SEAS complex,” the memo said.

“This would allow for the three large residences (110-116 Prospect Avenue) to be preserved and renovated for housing.”

Meanwhile, Hotchkiss said the University is “open to initiating a process to request a modification of the boundary of the Historic District” to include 91 Prospect at its new proposed location.

The petition also noted that in the past, the university demolished homes on Olden Street and Alexander Street for campus development.

But the University argued that it has “restored and preserved” around “80 historic buildings and landscapes on campus and in the adjacent neighborhoods in the past 20 years.”

“In planning campus construction, we seek to balance the distinctive sense of place on campus with the need to advance Princeton’s teaching and research mission,” Hotchkiss said.

Princeton said that their plan was developed in “close consultation with historic consultants.” While it will provide new facilities for Environmental Studies and SEAS, it will also preserve “the historic structure now at 91 Prospect.”

Hotchkiss told Patch the University is “pleased to have the opportunity to share the process and thinking behind this project” at the upcoming Historic Preservation Committee and the Planning Board meetings.

The Special Historic Preservation Commission will be meeting on June 7 from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to discuss the university's application.

A planning board hearing is scheduled for June 17, at 7:30 p.m.

By Thursday noon, the petition garnered more than 315 signatures with a goal to reach 500. The group that initiated the petition has asked residents to attend all the upcoming meetings.

The University said it is working closely with the Princeton Prospect Foundation on a separate project to "restore the historic Prospect Avenue streetscape and will provide 84 new trees to that effort."

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