To the Editor:
Princeton needs more affordable housing that fits into the scale and density of our unique and often historic neighborhoods. Looking back at letters written to the Town Topics in the last year about the controversial Stockton Street project, all the letters are in favor of more affordable housing — an issue that everyone agrees on.
Two groups who support more affordable housing are also opposing the large project on Stockton Street. The first, Defend Historic Princeton, notes on their website defendhistoricprinceton.org: “Princeton needs more affordable housing, in every neighborhood, and in harmony with the town’s unique historical character.” The second, Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development (PCRD), in a November 2025 email to supporters, stated: “PCRD has consistently supported affordable housing. Early in the process, PCRD proposed a mixed-income development including both affordable and market-rate townhouses — a model aligned with the surrounding Mercer Hill/Institute neighborhood. The issue with the Seminary properties is not affordability — it is density, scale, and the long-term impact on historic context and municipal finances.”
The point of disagreement with these two groups and the developer and town is the scale and unprecedented density of the Stockton Street project. The citizens of Princeton should not have to agree to a 238-unit apartment building on 4.4 acres (Phases 1 and 2) without having a lot of questions answered, concerns listened to, and hopefully the density reduced.
Stockton Street between the area around Edgehill Street and Hibben Road is a unique historic area in Princeton with two of the oldest houses in Princeton. Adjacent to the Stockton Street site is the “Barracks” at 32 Edgehill Street, a stone home built around 1685 as the home of Richard Stockton “the Settler” and at 130 Stockton Street is the Joseph Olden house, a very small stone house built around 1750. Also within the Stockton Street site (Phase 3) is 92 Stockton Street, built in the 1860s by the town’s esteemed builder/architect Charles Steadman as his last home in Princeton. The other historic adjacent or nearby homes on Edgehill Street and Hibben Road are from the 1830s to 1920s, historic homes all 100-200 years old, all on the downward slope from this high-density proposed project and all in need of careful consideration of the impact of such a large development, which includes a huge underground parking garage, on their foundations as well as the small scale, low density historic character of the streets and neighborhood.
I would like to ask our town officials, dedicated to making Princeton the best it can be, to bring all the interested parties to the table and negotiate a calm and respectful solution that addresses concerns about density, affordable housing, historic preservation, environmental impacts, and the growing problem of safety related to traffic.