By Anne Levin
The future of the Westminster Choir College campus was a focus of Princeton Council’s meeting on Monday night, November 10. Chris Colley of the Topology planning firm, which is based in Newark, delivered an update on efforts to determine the fate of the 23-acre property that was purchased by the municipality from Rider University in April.
The consultants are midway through a four-step process, Colley said. The first phase was to establish a clear project plan, and the current phase is to develop a project vision. Future steps involve developing design alternatives and coming up with a preferred option.
The campus between Hamilton Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Walnut Lane, and Linden Lane has been only partially used since Rider, which merged with Westminster in 1992, relocated the students and faculty of the college to its main campus in Lawrence Township in 2019.
Topology has had discussions with members of the community, the public schools, and municipal staff about the property, and also conducted a public survey. Colley stressed that there is “more engagement to come,” he said. “That is very important.”
Responses to the survey indicated a desire to use the site to promote the arts and culture; support recreation, open space, and community uses; create housing opportunities; support Princeton Public Schools; and retain the historic fabric of Westminster — in that order.
Creating a set of objectives or rules, the list of possibilities includes retaining the four key sites of the historic quad, keeping the core of the expansive front lawn area, being respectful of finances, including space for Westminster Conservatory of Music, and accommodating McCarter Theatre Center’s plan to use Bristol Chapel and other portions of the campus to expand its community arts education programs, among others. A portion of the property is wetlands, which will influence future design work.
Colley said that understanding the buildings is critically important to the planning process. “One really fun part of this has been digging into the history, finding old pictures, and learning about the evolution of the site,” he said.
The buildings are in four groups, one of which is centered around the historic quad and contains buildings from the 1920s. Preserving them, specifically Taylor Hall, which experienced a flood in recent years, would involve the extremely costly removal of black mold. Mayor Mark Freda cautioned that such actions might not be financially feasible.
“Also, what are the actual municipal needs on that property? I think those are things that need more discussion,” he said.
Council President Mia Sacks commented that there has been strong sentiment for preserving the historic quad by the Westminster Foundation and historic preservation advocates.
“To your point,” she said to Freda, “the price tag is potentially staggering. And that is why following Chris’ presentation someone is going to present to us what is involved to bring those buildings up to code.”
Sacks was referring to Annabelle Radcliffe-Trenner of the Trenton-based Historic Building Architects, who delivered a brief report on how that could be done. Getting “behind the skin of a building” is key, she said, adding that the company has that ability.
The campus has been eyed by some as a site for another public school. “The town is focused, together with Princeton Public Schools, in assessing how the site can be best used for long-term municipal and school district needs,” Sacks said in a statement before the meeting. “As we have said from the beginning, this is a generational opportunity. Due to the level of complexity involved, the planning process for the site will unfold over an extended period to allow coordination between the key stakeholders and to ensure that all aspects are carefully considered.”
The next public meeting of Princeton Council is November 24 at 7 p.m.