Toll Brothers Inc is seeking permision to build a development of 28 townhouses at the site of the old ‘Italian-American Sports Club’ at Founders Lane in Princeton (map). The proposal will be the subject of a hearing by the Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment next Wednesday, October 7.
The Italian-American Sportsmen’s Club was founded in 1947 by Italian-Americans in Princeton who hoped to provide activities for their chilren, many of whom were among the first generation born in the USA. They purchased 84 acres of land in Princeton Township, part of which was given to the town to extend North Harrison Street. As time went on, the board sold more of the land for development, culminating in 1990 with the sale of 20 acres to build the Governor’s Lane townhouses off Terhune Road. At the end of Governor’s Lane, a new clubhouse was built on an extension, Founders Lane. The Founders Lane clubhouse has been used regularly since, including for weddings and events, but the foundation gave up their liquor license in June 2025, suggesting that it was likely to close. Toll Brothers now has a contract to purchase the property.
Toll Brothers is proposing to redevelop the site of the sports club with 28 townhouses, of which six would be designated affordable homes for households of very-low, low, and moderate incomes. They have not submitted a full site plan. Instead, they are specifically asking for permission to build townhouses on the site, which is not an allowable use in the OR-2 zone. The OR-2 zone instead allows low-density office, research, and laboratory facilities. A map of the proposed layout of the townhouses has been submitted, along with a traffic study, but there are no detailed designs or renderings.
Although the proposed townhouse development would provide much-needed affordable housing, it’ is far from clear that the Zoning Board of Adjustment will grant the needed use variance. This type of variance would normally require a 2/3 supermajority of the members of the board. Last month, the vice-chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Stephen Schreiber, wrote a letter to ‘Town Topics’ newspaper expressing skepticism about the idea of changing zoning codes to allow more homes. He indicated that it was not necessary, because Princeton “is not like other communities in New Jersey or the rest of the country”.
The traffic study indicates that new vehicle movements to the redeveloped site would be limited to “3 entering trips and 10 exiting trips during the weekday morning peak hour and 8 entering trips and 6 exiting trips during the evening peak hour” and adds “Such a level of traffic activity is not considered to be significant.” Whether this is convincing to homeowners in the Governor’s Lane townhouses seems uncertain. Some of those residents were already riled by another nearby affordable housing development, which was approved earlier this year (Report: Princeton Planning Board Approves Inclusionary Townhouse Development at Thanet Circle). Further objections seem likely.
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