As the Regional Planning Board of Princeton heard various points of view on the rezoning and ultimate redevelopment of the nine-acre tract that currently houses Princeton HealthCare System's Merwick Care Center on Bayard Lane, two themes were clear.
First, involved property owners, including the YM/WCA, Princeton University, owner of the Stanworth Apartments to the north of Merwick and contract purchaser of the Merwick lands, and Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), all vowed to work together as the rezoning effort moves forth, including working with the historic neighborhoods that lie to the east and the west of Merwick.
Second, while it's too early to tell how the site will be designed, the Princeton Community Master Plan needs to be amended relatively soon if the discussion will continue at all.
Changes to the Master Plan would ultimately dictate zoning changes that will facilitate the transfer of property from PHCS to the University, which has expressed a keen desire to place graduate housing on the site, as well as to revitalize the 50-year-old Stanworth Apartments.
So while Princeton Future, the community-based group that examines in-town development, presented the findings of its Merwick Planning Study — an eight-architect charette held earlier this month examining the possibilities of the Merwick Tract — both Princeton University and the hospital, as well as the Y, all agreed that it is too early to start examining the site as though development were imminent.
The study, also referred to as a charette, yielded several plans from area architects and architectural firms charged to find ways to redevelop Merwick, as well as the surrounding areas.
Suggestions ranged from the sensible to the radical, but most did find middle ground on increasing pedestrian and bicycle circulation, with an emphasis on creating pathways that would adjoin the surrounding neighborhoods: all philosophical guidelines that Princeton Future organizers hope will eventually appear in the Master Plan.
Guidelines, not site plans, were what Robert Durkee, the University's vice president and secretary, hoped would ultimately prevail:
"We won't own the property for five or more years," he said. "It is possible we will won't own the property at all."
The University is currently in the process of touring its own master plan guidelines to various municipal entities in terms of future development. Tuesday night, University representatives were scheduled to go before Borough Council with their plan that promotes a denser, more pedestrian-friendly campus. It is for this reason that the school is interested in the nearby Merwick campus, rather than building housing on its West Windsor lands.
Mr. Durkee agreed with the Princeton Future ideals of pedestrian circulation and blending neighborhoods. He added that any new development on the site would be residential, and thus, taxpaying.
Planning Director Lee Solow said guidelines put forth in the Master Plan regarding Merwick do not need to be as specific as those assembled for the hospital's main campus on Witherspoon Street, largely because of the openness of the nine-acre Merwick site, much of which is undeveloped and wooded.
Mr. Solow noted several areas of focus: namely what building types would be desired for the site; circulation, including auto, pedestrian, and bicycle; and historic preservation.
The Planning Board's Master Plan Subcommittee is expected to meet in the coming weeks to begin drafting formal language for amendments to the Master Plan.