By Anne Levin
At a May 26 concept review regarding the future of a late 19th century house at 8 Green Street in the Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District, Princeton’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) heard a proposal by the building’s owner to demolish the house and rebuild on the site.
Jalsa Urubshurow of Nomad Development LLC in Cranbury told members of the HPC that he purchased the house in January 2024, fully intending to live in it. But further inspections revealed the building to be in structural disrepair and full of mold, he said, adding that recent health problems, including open heart surgery, make it impossible for him to occupy the building. His proposed plans are for tearing down the house and building a larger one with a basement apartment, and an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on the property.
Urubshurow said he is a conservationist who has been involved in preservation projects, but the house is beyond repair. “It’s just not healthy,” he said of the dwelling. “We are looking for demolition. We even tried to get demolition companies to come in, and one refused to work there.”
Historic Preservation Officer Sara Quinlan and three Green Street residents, including former Princeton Borough Mayor Yina Moore and preservation architect Annabelle Radcliffe-Trenner, said they were not in favor of demolition.
Responding to Urubshurow’s claims that repairing and renovating the house would be too costly, Quinlan wrote in a memo to the HPC that he was aware of the costly repairs that would be needed when he bought the property. “It is staff’s opinion that the concept plan for the proposed demolition and new construction does not conform with the Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties nor does it adhere to the Municipal Land Use Ordinance,” she said, reading the report aloud at the meeting. Despite the installation of vinyl siding and other minor alterations over the years, the two-story, wood-frame vernacular dwelling “still retains integrity of location, design, setting, workmanship, feeling, and association that qualifies it as a contributing resource to the Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District.”
Moore described the house as “very significant within the period of significance for this district,” adding that another dwelling on the street that was in worse condition was successfully rehabilitated. “There are ways to create a safe environment [in the house],” she said. “It is inappropriate for the Commission to allow for the demolition of 8 Green Street.
Radcliffe-Trenner, who bought her own house on Green Street last September, prepared a lengthy memo on the proposed project. She has reviewed reports on the house in great detail. Referring to the presence of mold, she said, “While I’m not a specialist, it is removable. It could be a perfectly healthy environment to live in, as my house is, having restored it.”
Structural problems in the house “are very mild,” she added. “I question where there is any major structural repair [needed]. It could easily be handled with the expertise you already have in your field.”
Longtime Green Street residents Ted and Louis McClure also spoke against demolition, calling the house solidly built. In his opinion, Ted McClure said, “The building “has the most beautiful front porch on our block, and is among the most beautiful in the entire district. It absolutely needs to be preserved.”
Quinlan’s report concludes with the statement that the building’s demolition “would result in an adverse effect to the district.” But no action was taken at the meeting.
While clearly in favor of tearing down the house and starting over, Urubshurow said he was looking for direction from the HPC on how to proceed with the project.