HPC approves replacement pool house at 210 Cherry Hill Road; applicant to protect large hickory tree

The Princeton Historic Preservation Commission on Oct. 20 approved Princeton property owner proposals to demolish and replace an existing octagonal pool house at 210 Cherry Hill Road with a new pool house on an expanded but similar footprint. The site is within the buffer of the Tusculum historic property; the commission treated the application as a Type‑1 review (visible from the public right‑of‑way).

Applicant representatives told the commission the existing pool house is deteriorated and located more than 130 feet from the public road behind heavy treed screening. The new building will use slate roofing, painted cedar shingle siding, copper gutters, Marvin clad wood windows, and a louvered folding porch roof that opens for sun and closes for rain. Exterior lighting will use warm‑temperature LEDs (2,700 K) and low outputs; final fixture details were described as low‑glare and limited to immediate areas around doors.

Commission staff confirmed demolition‑notice requirements had been met. Commissioners asked specifically about tree protection for an on‑site hickory tree; the applicant confirmed a protection plan and that landscape materials would be temporarily relocated and replanted (trees to be “healed in” during construction). The applicant said no new stone paths were proposed to storage doors and that stormwater and site disturbance would be minimized.

The commission voted to approve the project; the approval includes required tree‑protection measures to be shown on construction documents and standard HPO conditions on materials and lighting. No public commenters opposed the project.

Ending: With commission approval, the applicant may proceed to apply for building permits subject to tree‑protection and final fixture specifications being included in permit drawings.