The Princeton Planning Board on Thursday recommended that the Borough Council designate three municipal parcels along Franklin Avenue as a non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment, clearing the way for a redevelopment plan and subsequent site-plan review.

Senior planner Michael Davis, author of an updated area-in-need study, told the board the three municipally owned lots (Lots 2, 26 and 27) show signs that meet statutory redevelopment criteria. Davis said the study found the parking lot and two small multifamily developments to be "dilapidated, obsolescent [and] detrimental to the health, safety, morals, or welfare of the community," and noted pervasive maintenance issues including pavement in disrepair, missing stormwater infrastructure on the parking lot and interior-unit conditions such as crumbling ceilings and mold.

Davis said each apartment in the residential buildings measures roughly 489 square feet, below standards used by several rehabilitation programs. "The unit size that these units exist at does not even qualify for...programs where existing units are taken and rehabbed," he said, noting those programs typically require larger minimum unit sizes.

During public comment Anita Goraniak said the larger lot has been used in the past for school parking and municipal staging and asked when neighbors would see a design. "The lot's not in use now because the entrances to the lot are blocked," Goraniak said, and asked whether previous tenants would be guaranteed housing in any new development.

Justin Lesko, planning staff, described the next steps: a redevelopment plan will be prepared, the plan and later site-plan applications will come back to the planning board and include public hearings and comment opportunities. On tenant relocation he said, "I don't believe there's a guarantee that can be made that those same tenants will be relocated back to this site," but noted earlier tenants were relocated to other housing-authority properties and may be eligible to apply for new units.

Councilman David Cohen said design guidelines prepared by a prior task force were provided to the developer with whom the municipality has a development agreement and that the same developer remains engaged; he encouraged neighbors to bring design questions to council, which will manage redevelopment-details and funding.

A board member moved to recommend designation of the parcels as a non-condemnation area in need of redevelopment; the motion was seconded and passed on roll call. The board's recommendation now goes to Borough Council, which must accept the designation for it to take effect; staff said council action is expected early in 2026.