The campus of the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro is on the verge of growing by another 11 acres — the size of a parcel of land immediately north of the hospital between Scudders Mill Road and Route 1 North. On Wednesday, October 10, the Plainsboro Township Committee will vote on a resolution authorizing the planing board to determine whether or not the tract, known as “the crescent,” constitutes an area in need of redevelopment.
“The tract was not included in the original redevelopment area because Princeton Healthcare System didn’t own it — now they own it. The thought now is to pull that parcel into the same kind of planning category that the hospital is in, which means it has to be designated as an area of need,” said Lester Varga, Plainsboro’s director of planning.
The land that now encompasses the hospital, Merwick Rehabilitation Center, the skilled nursing facility, and the old FMC Corporation property (a total of 160 acres) was deemed an area in need of redevelopment through a law which allows municipalities to designate such areas. In 2007 Princeton HealthCare System became a contract purchaser of what used to be FMC Corporation’s 156 acres.
“It put different kind of ‘zoning’ in place to redevelop the property according to some specific need or some specific vision,” Varga said.
Varga said this is how the hospital property was developed, and areas around the hospital are up next, starting with “the crescent.” From Route 1 north, the right-side exit ramp for Scudders Mill Road towards Plainsboro sits adjacent to undeveloped, unutilized land.
Plainsboro’s township committee must give the planning board the task of conducting a study to determine whether or not the 11-acre parcel really is an area of need. Varga says this is the first step in a process to re-designate the area and ultimately start its redevelopment.
“Assuming it all goes smoothly, the area will have the same standing as the rest of the healthcare campus, which includes the hospital, the park, the skilled nursing facility and still vacant parcels north and south of Plainsboro Road,” Varga said.
In addition, Plainsboro is rewriting its redevelopment plan because of some changes that have occurred since its original adoption. “We are also taking this opportunity to work with the hospital to bring that property into the process,” said Varga.
Varga said that the same consultant who prepared the original redevelopment plan (in 2008) is on board for the rewrite. He says the planning board’s involvement in the new plan should be completed by the end of 2012, with possible adoption by the township committee early next year.
