West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh announced the final three candidates that may be hired to design the township’s planned redevelopment.
The three firms are Michael Graves & Associates from Princeton, Hillier Architecture of 500 Alexander Park in West Windsor, and Street-Works from White Plains, NY.
Says Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner: “Their presentations were a notch above the others. In addition, their backgrounds and experience in redevelopment projects played a significant role. Their emphasis on the Charette process and stakeholder input were areas of interest to those of us on the committee who selected the three.”
The charette process is a collaborative effort between an architect and the points of view of stakeholders. In the case of this redevelopment process, the stakeholders include residents, land owners, business owners, government officials, and entities such as New Jersey Transit.
Each of the three firms will give a public presentation, followed by a question and answer period for the public, Council, and Planning Board members. The presentations are expected to take place on three separate nights over the next two months.
The presentations are expected to focus more on the company’s history and the process by which they will approach the project rather than their vision for the appearance of improvements. “The planner should not be going in with any preconceived notions. If they listen, they will find hot-button issues and will be able to address those hot-button issues to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders. Then, the project will move expeditiously,” says Gardner.
Said Hsueh, who is chairman of the search committee,”We want the whole community involved in the decision. This is the most open process.”
According to a press release, the proposals submitted by the finalists will be made available to the public prior to the presentations.
According to a representative from one of the firms, the township asked that there be no discussion of the project with the press.
Once the firms have given their presentations, the Search Committee will again meet to determine one planning firm to recommend for approval by the Township Council. the mayor will negotiate the terms of an agreement to be presented for Council’s approval.
“This is the third phase of a three phase process,” says Hsueh about the public presentations. The first phase was the issuance of the RFQ/P to which 17 firms responded. The second phase was an interview process in which nine firms participated.
Michael Graves & Associates, which has an office on Nassau Street, has practiced architectural and interior design since 1964 and has received more than 160 design awards. Michael Graves was awarded the 2001 AIA Gold Medal and the 1999 National Medal of Arts. The company is experienced with multi-use urban developments, as well as with corporate headquarters, hotels, libraries, theaters, museums, academic buildings, health care facilities, sports and recreational facilities, housing, and private residences.
Street-Works director of urban design and planning Eric Fang offered several comments regarding the project: “The thrust of our proposal is that it is a detailed, thorough approach to fulfilling the needs of the township.”
Fang, as a consultant hired by New Jersey Transit, was involved in the vision plan study for the township in 2004 and presented a preliminary plan for proposed 350-acre transit village that would three components: An office district on Alexander Road and Vaughn Drive, consisting of existing office buildings, the current township compost site, and the old Princeton Polychrome property, A residential neighborhood in the area of the Washington Park office complex located off of Washington Road, and a mixed-use village core in the area of the existing train station, where the Vaughn Drive parking lots are now located. Says Fang of West Windsor: “It’s a great community with a lot of potential.”
His company’s experience with mixed-use developments includes Santana Row in San Jose, CA Bethesda Row in Bethesda, MD, New Roc City in New Rochelle, N.Y. and the Blue Back Square in West Hartford, CT. “With our strong ties with the retail community, we are able to quickly determine the level of interest in the site and what possible deals can be achieved,” says the company’s web site.
Hillier Architecture designed the Princeton Public Library, as well as residential projects like the Condominiums at South’s Garage and Coventry Farm in Princeton, and the Parc Rittenhouse in Philadelphia.
The company designed 15 transit village projects, giving them a history working with both New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. Hillier has taken on 10 redevelopment projects, including Parkside Neighborhood Strategic Plan, Camden NJ The Trenton Capital District was planned by Hillier, as was the new Camden City Hall area.
“We are excited and honored to be named one of three finalists for the Princeton Junction transit village and believe it’s a great opportunity to work right here in our own backyard and help the West Windsor community shape its future,” said Anish Kumar, director of urban design at Hillier Architecture.
“To us, communities are about the people who live in them, so whenever we design a project –whether it’s an urban neighborhood or a transit village — we make sure that residents are heavily involved. We don’t tell people what we want to see in their community; we ask them what they would like to see happen,” he continued.
The search committee also includes Township Engineer James Parvesse, Land Use Manager Samuel Surtees, Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardener, Planning Board Vice Chair Steve Jany, and council members Franc Gambatese and Heidi Kleinman. Council President Linda Geevers is an alternate voting member.
Aside from the seven voting members, the committee includes three advisors: Township Attorney Michael J. Herbert, Planning consultant
John Madden, and citizen advisor and former council member Kristen Appelget.
