Town Planning Board Approves New Sir David Adjaye-Designed Princeton University Art Museum

Posted on March 22, 2021 by walkableprinceton
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View of the new Princeton University Art Musuem, which has just been approved by the Princeton Planning Board. (click to expand)

Earlier this month, Princeton University presented plans for a new University Art Musum. The new museum would be built on the existing 4.5 acre site (map). The current museum (which has been closed since last April) and adjoining McCormick Hall would be demolished, with only the Marquand Art Library being retained. The Cooper Robertson firm and Ghanaian-British master architect Sir David Adjaye designed for the new museum. Adjaye has previously designed the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington DC, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC. The new Princeton University Art Museum would be 144,000 sq. ft, one of the biggest buildings on campus, and located in the heart of the historic university area behind Nassau Hall.

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Engineers Present Latest Concept Plan for Witherspoon Street Downtown Thoroughfare

Posted on March 16, 2021 by walkableprinceton

Concept plan for redesign of Witherspoon St between Nassau St and Spring St, showing proposed use of pavers across the street width. (click to expand)

 

Last year, Princeton Council voted to advance a plan to permanently convert the downtown part of Witherspoon Street into a one-way traffic pattern. The decision was made ahead of a large engineering project to upgrade sewers, which will require the street to be dug up and re-laid. A 9-month public consultation showed enthusiasm for a more walkable street design, an idea that was further supported by a petition signed by more than 1,000 local residents and support from several downtown merchants. Princeton engineers have advanced design concepts for the project, and updated Council last month on their progress.  Continue reading →

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Redesigned Griggs Corner Apartment Proposal Gets Mixed Reception at Princeton’s Site Plan Review Advisory Board

Posted on February 28, 2021 by walkableprinceton

Rendering of proposed mixed-used redevelopment at Griggs Corner in Princeton. (click to expand)

Earlier this month, Princeton’s Site Plan Review Advisory Board considered a redesign of a mixed-use building proposal on Witherspoon Street at Hulfish St (map). The site in question is ‘Griggs Corner’, a one-quarter acre lot that was formerly used as a gas station and has been a surface parking lot for several decades. The original application, for a mixed-use development containing ground-floor retail and eight apartments, was submitted by Palmer Square Management last June (report from Walkable Princeton). There was concern at the time that the new project would stand too close to the Elements / Mistral restaurant on the north side of the site. The new design aims to address this issue, by re-orienting the building on the site. Continue reading →

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New Vegan Restaurant, ‘The Planted Plate’, Opens on Spring St

Posted on January 19, 2021 by walkableprinceton

‘The Planted Plate’ vegan restaurant at 15 Spring St in Princeton. (click to expand)

Earlier this month, the long-awaited vegan restaurant, ‘The Planted Plate’ opened its doors at 15 Spring St in downtown Princeton. The new restaurant offers a breakfast menu, and a selection of salads, sandwiches and ‘hot bowls’. All the food is entirely plant-based. Continue reading →

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Ten Predictions For Princeton In 2021!

Posted on December 31, 2020 by walkableprinceton

New undergraduate colleges under construction just south of Poe Field, on the Princeton University campus. December 2020. (click to expand)

What a year! 2020 has not been an easy one for Princeton, with the coronavirus contagion upending all our expectations. Schools have closed, businesses have shut down, and, tragically, many people have lost their lives because of a virus pandemic unlike anything in living memory. But as crazy as it seems, coronavirus has not been the only big story in Princeton this year. The town has approved hundreds of new homes, as part of the towns fair share housing settlement, which will shape our community for years to come. The one-way circulation on Witherspoon St, which was enacted in response to demands for ‘social distancing’ may now become permanent. Who could have foreseen that? And what could the new year hold? As in previous years, we have set out some predictions…
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More Than 250 Residents Sign Petition Expressing Support For A More Walkable Witherspoon Street In Downtown Princeton

Posted on November 24, 2020 by walkableprinceton

Pearl St Mall, Boulder, Colorado, Image credit: Kurt Kanouse

Over 250 residents have signed a petition calling for a more walkable design for lower Witherspoon Street in Princeton. The two blocks of Witherspoon Street closest to Nassau Street have been converted to a one-way setup for most of 2020, to facilitate safe outdoor dining during the coronavirus pandemic. Council is now considering long-term changes to the layout of Witherspoon Street, to coincide with an upcoming sanitary sewer replacement project that will require this section of the street to be dug up. Public consultation on potential changes to Witherspoon Street began in February, and has been continuing throughout the year. Continue reading →

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Princeton Council To Eliminate Taxi Stand On Nassau Street

Posted on November 18, 2020 by walkableprinceton
Taxi stand on Nassau Street in Princeton, November 2020 (click to expand)

The taxi stand at Nassau St and Witherspoon St in downtown Princeton, which has existed for many years, is set to disappear. As part of their meeting on October 19, Princeton Council agreed to reconfigure the space as parking for downtown businesses. Continue reading →

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Princeton Council Poised To Create Affordable Housing Zone, Permitting 30 New Homes On Terhune Road

Posted on November 1, 2020 by walkableprinceton

‘Concept plan’ for new housing in the proposed ‘AH-7’ zone at 375 Terhune Road, Princeton (click to expand)

Princeton Council will consider a plan to rezone a plot of land at 375 Terhune Road at their meeting on Monday, November 2. The new zoning would permit construction of up to 30 new homes, and end a legal battle that had threatened the town’s affordable housing settlement.

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First Look: New Apartment Proposals at Thanet Road in Princeton

Posted on October 11, 2020 by walkableprinceton

Rendering of proposed Avalon Bay apartments at Thanet Road in Princeton (click to expand)

Princeton’s “Site Plan Review Advisory Board” examined a preliminary plan this week for a proposed apartment development on Thanet Road (map). The site was designated for housing as part of a plan adopted by the town earlier this year to meet state affordable housing requirements. Existing office buildings at Thanet Circle, which are mostly vacant, would be demolished to allow construction of two  apartment developments. One of these would be built by Avalon Bay, and would include 221 homes. These new residential units would be in a range of townhouses and apartment buildings, rising to a maximum of four stories. 

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Poll Shows ‘Overwhelming’ Support For Closing Witherspoon Street in Downtown Princeton To Traffic

Posted on September 25, 2020 by walkableprinceton

Part of Witherspoon Street was repurposed for street dining in summer 2020. (click to expand)

At a public meeting last week, representatives of the Princeton Engineering Department discussed plans for reconstruction of Witherspoon Street in downtown Princeton. The project is scheduled to begin next year, and the purpose of the meeting was to get further feedback about ideas for how to redesign Witherspoon St. Several concepts were presented. Witherspoon St between Nassau St and Spring St was converted to one-way traffic earlier this year, to create additional space for outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Making this one-way concept permanent is one option that is being considered. Other options range from restoring two-way traffic, to closing the road to through traffic altogether. To evaluate which design option was preferred by the public, the engineers set up an online poll, and at the time of the meeting, the ‘overwhelming’ preference shown by  Continue reading →

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