Who we are
Defend Historic Princeton is a coalition of residents and concerned citizens, in and out of Princeton, who oppose town-wide overdevelopment at the expense of Princeton’s multifaceted historic character. By Historic Princeton, we mean the entire area listed as the Princeton Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, which includes Jugtown, Witherspoon-Jackson, and other vital neighborhoods.
We are currently focused on opposing a massive luxury high-rise apartment complex proposed for construction along Stockton Street in the heart of Princeton’s oldest historic residential neighborhood.
The Barracks, Edgehill Street, dating to 1684.
Our opposition to this project is and always has been over the density, height, and mass of the buildings. If completed, the complex will constitute by far the densest development in any residentially zoned (R-1) area in the municipality, 18.5 times higher than the current neighborhood density.
Reaching as high at 70 feet, the four-story complex will include some of the tallest buildings in town (commercial or residential) and will tower over its neighboring residences, mostly two- and three-story clapboard homes, one dating back as early as 1684 and many of the others dating to the 1830s and 1840s.
Why, more specifically, do we oppose this project?
This Stockton Street project will be a city-sized complex of 238 units, an example of aggressive high-density urbanism. It will represent the densest housing in any residentially zoned area in the municipality. It will also be denser than any comparable development anywhere in Princeton.
If allowed to proceed, it will:
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Devastate a neighborhood of residences and historic sites dating back to the 17th century, as well as the overall architectural character and historical significance of the municipality;
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Virtually ensure flooding resulting from the complex’s vast impermeable footprint and its underground multilevel parking for 221 vehicles as well as the removal of old-growth trees.
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Exacerbate already significant traffic congestion on five of the seven thoroughfares in and out of Princeton, adding hundreds of vehicles to the municipality’s existing traffic problems.
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Pose potentially grave threats to public health as well as to surrounding historical buildings that, as far as we know, have not been assessed by either the developer or the Municipality.
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Deepen Princeton's social and economic disparities by including the absolute minimum of affordable housing required by law offset by four times as many luxury units.
We further oppose the Municipal Council’s numerous dubious actions to facilitate this project. These include designating a portion of Historic Princeton as a blighted Area in Need of Redevelopment (ANR) and later granting to the developer, on frivolous grounds, a windfall PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) of up to $40 million, an exercise in corporate welfare.
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