Volume LXXIX, Number 1
May the New Year Bring You Health and Happiness And Bring Us All One Step Closer to Peace on Earth ———
David Xu Starring as PHS Boys’ Swimming Produces 6-0 Start . . . . . . . . . . .29 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Book Review. . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 18 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 32 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Music Review . . . . . . . 15 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 19 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing Arts . . . . . 16 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Growing Town Balances Optimism, Concerns at 2024 Year End In 2024 Princeton saw another year of major ongoing construction projects, accompanied by a certain amount of controversy; 15 new businesses coming to town; a sharp focus and significant progress on environmental issues; a more peaceful year than last in the Princeton Public Schools; a year of accomplishments along with a certain amount of turbulence at Princeton University; and an abundance of both hope and fear for the new year. The opening of the Graduate by Hilton Princeton hotel and the Triumph Restaurant & Brewery, the completion of the Witherspoon Street Improvement Project in downtown Princeton, and the final stages of the Alice and Avalon Princeton construction on Harrison Street near the Princeton Shopping Center were major development milestones, and the approval of a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with Herring Properties for construction of apartments on the former Princeton Theological Seminary property suggests that the building momentum will be continuing into 2025 and beyond. There were demonstrations in town, most significantly in support of Princeton’s immigrant community following a July 10 raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, and on the Princeton University campus, where the Gaza Solidarity Encampment occupied McCosh Courtyard then Cannon Green for a total of about three weeks. A December 19 discussion at the Nassau Presbyterian Church on “Strengthening Rights in Immigration, Healthcare, Environment, and Law,” with a panel including some of New Jersey’s leading officials, reflected both priorities and concerns that Princeton and the state carry into the coming year.
Nassau Inn began operations nearly 90 years ago. The newest of the collegiate-inspired Graduate chain, which was acquired last spring by Hilton, the hotel’s memorabiliafilled lobby has been welcoming to all. Ye Tavern, the lobby restaurant named after a bar said to have been located in the spot nearly a century ago, is especially popular. The hotel encompasses 20 Nassau Street, a former office building that dates from 1918, and a large section behind it on Chambers Street, where smaller structures were demolished to make room for new construction. The demolition and construction process took longer than expected, but most agree that it was worth the headaches and the wait.
A few blocks away at the site of the former post office on Palmer Square, Triumph Restaurant & Brewery welcomed its first guests at the end of June after an extensive renovation, and has been going strong ever since. Originally built in 1934, the post office was targeted for closing in 2013. Two years later, it was relocated to a smaller location behind the 7-Eleven on eastern Nassau Street. That made room for the move of Triumph from its previous home, a former bowling alley on Nassau Street, to the historic post office site. The Planning Board gave its approval in 2017, but it was another seven years before the sleek new restaurant could open its doors. About 20 percent of the building has been restored, and about 80 percent
Development and Construction
If 2023 was the year when parts of downtown Princeton resembled a construction site, 2024 was the year when things began to get back to normal. While there is still plenty of building going on, most of it is taking place outside of the Central Business District. The much-anticipated Set Graduate in one of by Princeton's most prestigious neighborhoods, within a short walk to town, the Hilton Princeton hotel at 10 Chambers University and other cultural venues, this classic Street finally opened in August and be-embodies the community's Federalist home history of sophistication. A grand, inviting came an immediate hit with visitors and hallway with a fireplace opens to the spacious and dining locals, many of whom hadliving suffered fromrooms suitable for the most elegant entertaining. Built in a period of skilled traffic tie-ups and road closings due these to well-proportioned rooms craftsmanship, NEW HOTEL IN TOWN: The Graduate by Hilton Princeton, which has an entrance high ceilings, deep moldings and other the extended construction. have The hotel was sought after details. First floor rooms flow on Chambers Street, opened in August and doubled the number of hotel rooms in seamlessly one another and onto a large the first to open in Princeton sinceintothe town. It is one of many new businesses that opened in 2024. (Photo by Andrew Frasz) porch, facilitating warm weather entertaining. This important home has a circular driveway and is located on almost an acre of land with a three car garage and is waiting for a new owner to make it their own.
Serving the Princeton Area Offered at $2,450,000
Robin L. Wallack Bro ke r A ss o ci ate
MARKETED BY Judith Stier
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O ( 6 0 9 ) 9Sales 2 4 . 1Associate 600 C ( 6 0 9 ) 4Direct 6 2 . 2 Line: 3 4 0 609.240.1232 E robin.wallack@foxroach.com 253 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
foxroach.com
609.924.1600
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completely reconstructed to fit the new needs of a restaurant and brewery. The historic WPA mural, painted in 1939 in the lobby, is on loan from the U.S Postal Service and now illuminated with special lighting. The municipality announced the official completion of the Witherspoon Street Improvement Project on December 10. The three-phase initiative resurfaced and restriped the roadway, raised crosswalks, widened and repaved sidewalks, and made this main thoroughfare of downtown Princeton tidier and more user-friendly. Parking along the street has been restored, and the speed limit has been lowered, from Nassau Street to Valley Road, to 20 miles per hour. A few tweaks remain, including raingarden plantings and the installation of pedestrian lighting, both scheduled for 2025. Developer James P. Herring’s plan to build 238 apartments on the former Tennent/Roberts/Whiteley campus of Princeton Theological Seminary took a major step forward on December 19, when Princeton Council voted to approve an ordinance granting Herring Properties a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement. This makes the developer exempt from taxes for 30 to 35 years, during which 95 percent of payments are made to the municipality, and five percent to Mercer County. Herring’s plan includes 48 units that are designated affordable. The news was welcome to some, unwelcome to others — specifically some residents of the surrounding neighborhood who are members of the Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development. The final plan is still subject to review from the Planning Board. A proposed development at the other end of town, in the historic Jugtown district, drew considerable concerns in 2023 from residents opposed to the four-story, 20,000-square-foot addition of 15 apartments at the Hornor House, located at the busy corner of Nassau and Harrison streets. In May of this year, the neighbors got a proverbial shot in the arm when Preservation New Jersey included the property on its “10 Most Endangered Historic Places.” The designation came just a week before the issue was set to go before the town’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) for review. After two hearings, the HPC voted to reject the proposal. Continued on Page 5