Few property owners have pockets as deep as Princeton University, but — as residents of Princeton can attest — that wherewithal does not always translate into property tax payments. But the West Windsor Planning Board took that into consideration November 28 as it gave final major site plan approval to Boston Properties to construct building 701 within Carnegie Center, which first will be leased to — and later could be sold to — the university.##M:[more]##
The 112,”000-square foot, four story office building located between Canal Pointe Boulevard and Route 1, adjacent to the Princeton Overlook property, will be utilized for “administrative and informational technology purposes,” said Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner. “It was described as basically for nonacademic pursuits.”
The building will contain meeting rooms, offices, a cafeteria, an outdoor terrace for dining, and a fitness center. He said the application was part of an overall general development plan approved by the township in the 1970s. Boston Properties, which owns the land in Carnegie Center, is anticipating starting construction in June, 2008 and completing it about 13 months later.
Gardner said Boston Properties indicated during the meeting that it will have a 15-year lease with Princeton, and after 10 years the university has an option to purchase it.
If the university exercises that option, there could be a considerable reduction in real estate tax revenues for that specific building because the university as a nonprofit is tax exempt. But Gardner said “there will have to be a negotiation for a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) between the township and the university,” at that time.
