PLAINSBORO – The long-awaited development of the 109-acre Princeton Nursery tract once owned by Princeton University may be moving closer to reality when the township Planning Board begins considering a plan to build 853 homes, a hotel, a possible grocery store, a restaurant and more retail space.
The Planning Board is scheduled to hear the proposal by WRV Nurseries Plainsboro which bought the land from Princeton University in 2024 on June 16. Partners in the development are the Pulte Group and NRV Inc., the parent company of Ryan Homes.
WRV has also received approved for an approximately 340,985-square-foot data center on the part of the Princeton Nursery site in bordering South Brunswick. However, four residents have gone to Superior Court to stop the project.
WRV's proposal for the Plainsboro portion, which calls for 519 for-sale homes and 334 rental units, is divided into three phases:
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 1 is expected to be completed within three years from the start of construction, with Phase 2 within 5 to 8 years and Phase 3 sometime between 8 and 19 years. According to a township memo, the developer expects to complete phases 1 and 2 with six years.
Over the past two years township planning staffers have been meeting with representatives of WRV on its plans for the property.
In 2020, the Planning Board adopted a general development plan which called for the property to be developed as an "amenitized" neighborhood anchored by a commercial main street destination with a diverse range of shopping opportunities, office spaces, dining and entertainment options, open space and varied housing choices.
in April, the Plainsboro Planning Board approved a proposal for 394 apartments, including 67 affordable units, on the nearby Princeton Forrestal Village campus.
A variance is requested from Plainsboro code which requires sidewalks along both sides of a street, but certain streets are proposed to have sidewalks on one side.
WRV Nurseries Plainsboro Owner is requesting relief from the Residential Site Improvement Standards for the western and eastern sides of the property as sidewalks are required along both sides of a street, but certain streets are proposed to have sidewalks on one side; intersection locations are required to be offset at a minimum of 150 feet apart from each other, but the minimum proposed is 96.65 feet; the minimum intersection curb radius required for a residential neighborhood street is 25 feet, but the project proposes to have curb radii of 20 feet, and the minimum centerline radius for a residential neighborhood street is 100 feet, but certain locations are proposed to have 31 feet and 46 feet, as well as the alleyways proposing 25 feet in certain locations.
A hearing on the application is scheduled for the 7 p.m. June 16 planning board meeting.
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Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.