The Terhune Harrison Mixed Use Village on Terhune Road and North Harrison Street will be highlighted at New Jersey Future’s annual Smart Growth Awards ceremony on Oct. 22.
The Municipality of Princeton, developers AvalonBay Communities and WinnCompanies, and planning consultants LRK and Phillips Preiss are the primary partners and will be honored at the event in New Brunswick.
Princeton is being lauded for transforming properties that are obsolete, underutilized, land-locked and undeveloped into a new mixed-use village that incorporates affordable housing opportunities.
“The emerging Terhune Harrison Mixed Use Village is creating a renewed sense of place while delivering critically needed housing for every income level (and) close to employers, schools, shops, public transportation (while) boosting the local economy,” Princeton Council President Mia Sacks said.
Sacks chairs the Princeton Council’s Affordable Housing, Planning and Redevelopment Committee. Princeton Council members David Cohen and Michelle Pirone Lambros also sit on the committee.
The Princeton Council worked with developers AvalonBay Communities and WinnCompanies to redevelop the neighborhood in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, using state redevelopment law.
The Terhune Harrison Mixed Use Village consists of more than 700 rental apartment developments and a for-sale townhouse development on Terhune Road and on North Harrison Street.
The developments include market rate units and units that have been set aside housing for very low- and moderate-income households.
The Avalon Princeton Circle rental apartment and townhouse development was built on the site of an obsolete office park on Thanet Circle, off Terhune Road. It consists of rental apartments and rental townhouses, and includes affordable housing units for developmentally disabled adults.
AvalonBay Communities also gave two acres of land next to its Avalon Princeton Circle development to another developer to build affordable senior housing known as Princeton Senior Living, a 100% affordable housing development for senior citizens.
The same developer is also building Avalon Princeton on Harrison. It is being built on a portion of the Princeton Shopping Center parking lot, next to the former Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad headquarters.
At the opposite end of the Princeton Shopping Center, WinnCompanies is building The Alice at Princeton rental apartment building. It sits on a six-acre lot on the corner of North Harrison Street and Terhune Road.
A townhouse development whose units are for sale has been approved for the property at 375 Terhune Road. The property extends back two acres next to the Princeton Shopping Center.
The Terhune Harrison Mixed Use Village sites will help Princeton to meet its requirement to provide its fair share of affordable housing – the result of a court settlement after the town was sued by the Fair Share Housing Center.
Also, the addition of more than 700 housing units is expected to lead to the revitalization of the 220,000-square-foot Princeton Shopping Center on North Harrison Street.
The Princeton Shopping Center had a vacancy rate of 19.5% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 20% vacancy rate is considered to be failing by the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Comprehensive planning for the Terhune Harrison Mixed Use Village also led to new sidewalks, dedicated bicycle lanes and a multi-purpose pedestrian and bicycle path to connect with the surrounding community. There are also raised crosswalks and other traffic calming measures.
Princeton’s Free Municipal Bus Service has been extended into the Terhune Harrison Mixed Use Village so residents can reach numerous destinations throughout the town.
Princeton officials are pleased to have been recognized by New Jersey Future.
“This marks the first time Princeton has received this coveted award since the Hinds Plaza redevelopment project was a recipient almost a quarter century ago,” Sacks said. Hinds Plaza is the area in front of the Princeton Public Library on Witherspoon Street.
The redevelopment of Hinds Plaza faced fierce opposition at the time, but it has now become integral to the community’s fabric and beloved by Princeton residents, she added.
“Then, as now, redevelopment – through efficient use of existing infrastructure – continues to be the most environmentally responsible and economically productive form of development,” Sacks said. “It is fitting that the late Ingrid Reed, who was integral to the success of Hinds Plaza, and whose support for smart planning and redevelopment around the state is renowned.”
Reed, a long-time Princeton resident who died earlier this year, is being honored posthumously with New Jersey Future’s 2024 Leadership Award. It is given to individuals who have an outstanding commitment to improving quality of life and promoting smart growth in New Jersey through sustainable land-use policy and practice.
Reed was a founding member of New Jersey Future and past board of trustees chair. She was a public policy professional who built and leveraged her network and knowledge to advance civic life in New Jersey as a supporter of forward-thinking, sustainability-based planning, New Jersey Future officials said.
