Designs for a residential community on the site of the former Merwick rehabilitation center and its neighboring Stanworth complex were presented to the Regional Planning Board on Thursday, January 19. This was a concept hearing, so no vote was taken. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods were given an opportunity to comment, and several voiced concerns about safety and already existing runoff issues.

Princeton University is developing the site off Bayard Lane for faculty, staff, and their families, with 20 percent devoted to affordable housing available to low-and-moderate-income local residents. Those units would be spread throughout the complex rather than isolated in one section, developers told the Planning Board.

The plans call for the existing Stanworth homes to be rebuilt and expanded. The University built the complex in the late 1940‘s to house faculty and staff. The adjacent Merwick site, which the University purchased in 2010 from Princeton Healthcare System when it was announced that Merwick was moving to Plainsboro, will be all new construction. The old building was recently demolished.

The Georgetown Company of New York City is the developer for the project, and Torti Gallas and Partners of Maryland are the architects. Sustainability and the maintenance of existing trees and green space are key features of the plan. Architect Lawrence Antoine said the challenge and design directive was to try to mix the different housing into a cohesive form. “We will pick up some of the massing standards of the existing Stanworth,” he said. “There will be similar massing in different-sized buildings.”

The first phase of the project is expected to begin with the nine-acre Merwick site. Plans call for 128 units within two-story townhomes, two-story multifamily stacked units, and three-story apartment buildings. The University expects to open the complex in the fall of 2014. The 17-acre Stanworth site, which is Phase 2 of the construction, will include the redevelopment of 198 units in two-story townhomes and two-story multi-family stacked flats. The existing 154 units will be demolished, and the new construction will be on the footprints of the old, when possible, in order to preserve as many trees as possible.

Previous to that, Stanworth will house graduate students who will vacate the Hibben-Magie complex while it is being redeveloped. Stanworth will then be emptied for construction, with faculty and staff scheduled to move in during the fall of 2016.

A large, wooded area would back up to homes on John Street. It is on that street, and on Leigh Avenue, that drainage problems already exist. “It’s a pretty serious problem,” said resident Hendricks Davis. “Indeed, a river runs from it and through it.”

Edgar Lampert, vice chairman of the Georgetown Company, acknowledged the problem and said all of the piping on the site will be replaced. “But still, there are challenges with the runoff to Leigh Avenue,” he said. “Our consultants are looking at that.”

Plans call for the main entrance into the housing complex to be the same as it was when the rehabilitation center was there. Traffic in and out is estimated to be approximately 21 percent less, according to consultant Georges Jacquemart. But residents of Cleveland Lane, which is opposite the entrance road, expressed doubt at the figure and concerns about safety.

“It’s a dangerous intersection,” said Debbie Morrison, who lives on the street. “I was hit by a car there in 2009.” Her husband Jack Morrison urged the developers to consider installing a flashing walkway. Other residents of the surrounding neighborhoods suggested such considerations as widening the sidewalk on Bayard Lane, minimizing exterior lighting, and making sure that future redevelopment plans of the YWCA and YMCA are kept in mind.