Princeton hearing on Hillier Properties plan draws debate over massing, parking and preservation

The Princeton Historic Preservation Commission on Jan. 8 reviewed a major site plan and historic‑preservation plan submitted by Hillier Properties LLC to redevelop 13 lots on the west side of Witherspoon Street between Green Street and Quarry/Bridal, combining restoration of street‑facing buildings with new three‑story housing behind them.

Applicant J. Robert Hillier told the commission he intends to “preserve the character and culture of the original neighborhood” while increasing housing supply, and said the project would grow the existing total from about 37 apartments to 74. He described repairing street facades — removing later stucco to reveal original clapboard, restoring porches and windows, and naming some buildings for local figures — while demolishing structurally compromised rear additions and replacing them with lower‑profile new construction that Hillier said is “done in muted colors and muted materials so they don't argue with what's in front.”

The project is advisory to the Planning Board; the commission stressed that its role was to evaluate historic‑preservation impacts and provide a formal advisory. Elizabeth (HPC staff) told commissioners the applicant “did address a lot of the comments that I had in my report,” praising the research and sensitive restoration of street‑facing structures such as the former Quarry Street/Witherspoon School (referred to in the hearing as Douglas Hall), but she and several commissioners urged more information on the visual relationship between the new rear construction and the smaller houses on Quarry, Lytle and McLean streets.

Why it matters: the site lies in the Witherspoon‑Jackson Historic District and in a municipal affordable‑housing overlay (AHO7). The commission must weigh preservation of street‑facing historic fabric against proposed demolition of compromised rear additions, while neighbors raise concerns that taller new blocks on side streets could…