The Princeton Council has approved a $50 million bond ordinance to pay for the potential acquisition of the former Westminster Choir College campus on Walnut Lane in Princeton.
The bond ordinance was approved unanimously following a public hearing at the Princeton Council’s Oct. 14 meeting. It allocates $42 million for the purchase of the property and $8 million for related expenses.
Last month, the Princeton Council approved another ordinance that authorizes the town to acquire the 22-acre campus from Rider University “by negotiation, purchase, condemnation or eminent domain.”
Princeton officials have said that acquiring the property would enable the town to more effectively plan for its long-term future, such as providing much-needed educational and recreational facilities for the community and the public school district.
The Westminster Choir College campus has been mostly vacant, with the exception of the Westminster Conservatory of Music, since Rider University moved the choir college to its Lawrence Township campus in September 2020.
The Westminster Conservatory, which is also part of Rider University, continues to operate on the former Westminster Choir College campus. It has offered music lessons to children and adults since it was founded in 1970.
Rider University acquired the choir college and its campus through a merger in 1992. It decided to sell the campus in 2016 for financial reasons, but a deal to sell it to a commercial, Chinese-government-owned entity fell through.
There was little comment during the public hearing on the bond ordinance.
Resident Joshua Zinder, who lives near the Westminster Choir College campus, said his “biggest issue” is that no one knows exactly what the town has planned for the property.
“The Westminster Choir College (campus) represents a huge opportunity for our community,” he said. “Whoever’s hands it is in, I hope it will be for the benefit of the greater Princeton community.”
Its potential uses could be for housing, entertainment, non-profit uses or open space, he said. A portion of the campus should be preserved for its historic legacy.
The property should not be turned over to the Princeton Public Schools, Zinder said because it has not been a good steward of the school properties that it already owns and manages.
When Zinder asked about the potential property tax impact of the $50 million bond ordinance, Administrator Bernard Hvozdovic estimated that it would be an additional $329 per year on the average Princeton house over a period of 30 years.
Borrowing $50 million to buy the property would not impact the town’s ability to issue bond ordinances in the future to pay for other projects, Hvozdovic said. Princeton has about $202 million available from its approximately $331 million in bonding capacity.
