By Anne Levin
At its meeting on Thursday, April 14, Princeton’s Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on whether or not the former campus of Westminster Choir College, which was acquired by the Municipality last year, meets criteria to be considered as a “non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment.”
A report by the Newark-based consultants Topology LLC on the state of the site — most significantly, its buildings and what can be done with them — is on the agenda. Their recommendation is in favor of the designation.
“The generality of buildings are substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated, or obsolescent, or possess any of such characteristics, or are so lacking in light, air, or space, as to be conducive to unwholesome living or working conditions,” reads the report, which cites criteria of New Jersey Land Use law. The report goes on to say that the designation is “consistent with smart growth planning principles adopted pursuant to law or regulation.”
Princeton has previously designated sites on Franklin Avenue and the former Princeton Theological Seminary as areas in need of redevelopment. The designation enables a municipality to set aside existing zoning laws to “employ several planning and financial tools,” according to New Jersey Land Use law. “A redevelopment designation may also qualify projects in the redevelopment area for financial subsidies or other incentive programs offered by the State of New Jersey.”
The 23-acre site bordered by Walnut and Linden lanes and Franklin Avenue was home to Westminster Choir College from 1934 until 2020. The campus was acquired by the town last April for $42 million from Rider University, with which the choral college merged in 1992. Rider moved Westminster to its Lawrence Township campus after an unsuccessful attempt to sell the site to other educational institutions.
A lack of accessibility, rotting window frames, mold, substandard heating and cooling systems, cracked sidewalks, defective boilers, and deteriorating plumbing fixtures are among the issues cited in the 141-page report, which includes several illustrations and is available on princetonnj.gov.
“The condition of Taylor Hall is instructive in demonstrating ways which water damaged buildings are not simply substandard, but are also conducive to unwholesome living and working conditions,” reads one section of the report.
“In Williamson Hall, for example, a portion of the building has no heat,” reads another. “In Seabrook Hall, flooding in the basement may have disabled the heating system. In Bristol Chapel, the air conditioning and heat function, but a persistent steam leak related to the heating system suggests unreliable heating and cooling and resulted in a small fire in an adjacent maintenance building.”
The study also cites a break-in that took place at Seabrook Hall last October, during which fire extinguishers were discharged, smoke detectors destroyed, and other vandalism took place, representing “a detrimental impact to the morals of the community.”
The Planning Board meeting is at 7 p.m. on April 16, and can be viewed via Zoom. Visit princetonnj.gov for the link.