The Canal Pointe Condominium Association’s Board of Trustees has thrown down the gauntlet.##M:[more]## In a letter to Barry Rabner, CEO of the University Medical Center at Princeton, the board has shouted its opposition to becoming the backyard of the new hospital the medical center is intending to build.
David Wolfe, president of the board, points out that the 75-acre Carnegie Center North site, located across Route 1 from the Bank of America building, is not zoned for a hospital, and vows that the condo association will utilize its “considerable resources to see that this project is never built at Carnegie Center.”
The condo board is concerned that the construction of a large medical center across the street from the homes of Canal Pointe residents will “adversely affect our quality of life and, consequently, the property values in this area.”
That threat surely would not be taken lightly by hospital officials, who are only too well aware of problems that unhappy neighbors can cause. When the medical center desperately needed to expand and houses nearby its current Witherspoon Street location to use for office space, residents on that street drummed up bitter and vituperative resistance, and the prospect of a bloody zoning battle might seem daunting now.
Carol Norris, medical center vice president of marketing and public affairs, responds to the letter stating that they are considering “all appropriate sites within two to six miles of our current hospital campus.”
Says Norris: “We have not had the opportunity to meet with any Canal Pointe residents to hear their concerns and share information, but we would welcome this opportunity.”
Norris adds that the medical center has been contacted by residents who requested that their names be removed from a petition circulated through the Canal Pointe community opposing the project. “They came to believe it was based on incomplete or inaccurate information.”
“We have also been contacted by numerous residents of West Windsor who have expressed their support for having the new hospital in their community,” says Norris. “We have demonstrated sensitivity and responsiveness to our neighbors and will continue to do this in our new location. We look forward to meeting and sharing information with the residents of Canal Pointe so they can make an informed decision.”
West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh denies that he told the condo board about any of the hospital’s choices, as stated in Wolfe’s letter (printed on page 2), and that he has received an E-mail from Wolfe apologizing for the misquote.
Hsueh has said that he is in favor of the hospital locating in West Windsor and believes it will attract high-quality ratables from the health and biotechnology sector.
The mayor says he had explained to Rabner that, before submitting an application for the West Windsor site, the medical center would need to work with the affected residents by holding public forums to talk about its plans. After the proposal is reviewed, the master plan and the zoning would need to be changed, and the zoning change would need to get approval from council.
The Carnegie North tract is currently approved for the construction of an office complex similar to its Carnegie Center sister site on the other side of Route 1.
“We would not take any applications before we have an opportunity to review the proposal,” says the mayor. “It will be reviewed on the basis of what will be the best for all of West Windsor.”
The other most likely choice would be the 260-acre Forrestal Center location — 110 acres in Plainsboro, 160 in South Brunswick — part of the Princeton Nurseries land that the Forrestal developers bought in 1986. The available space is adjacent to and north of Princeton Forrestal Village. Needing a minimum of 50 acres, the hospital could choose a spot in either township or one that spans both.
The good news for the hospital is that, here, there would be no complaining homeowners. The only adjoining residences are rental units in the Barclay Square development. For the first decade of their existence, no one is allowed to own these units.
It goes without saying that the Gale Company, which owns Forrestal Village, and also the owners of the assisted living center, would be thrilled to have the hospital as a neighbor. The hospital’s moving in would fulfill the Village’s long-awaited potential and its owners plans to populate the Village with professional offices.
A third choice could still emerge — the former Union Camp site on Princeton Pike in Lawrence. The 134-acre tract was supposed to have become new corporate campus for RCN, which had paid $25.5 million for the land. When the telecom suffered financial woes, it sold the property to Bristol-Myers Squibb, which has not announced any plans to use it. Approvals are in place for a 10-building 1.5 million square foot complex.
This location would seem to be too close to Capital Health’s proposed expansion just a few blocks south, but the real deal breaker could be the rush hour traffic problem on Princeton Pike.
