Redevelopment of the area around the Princeton Junction Train Station has not played out the way many residents had hoped it would, but one small part of that area is moving ahead toward a mix of residential and retail uses. Shawn Ellsworth has filed an application with West Windsor Township to redevelop the existing Ellsworth Center at the intersection of Princeton-Hightstown and Cranbury roads.
Though the center is currently zoned as a commercial strip, Ellsworth hopes to add additional retail along with 18 second-floor apartments. The application will be presented at the Site Plan and Review Board Advisory Board (SPRAB) meeting on Monday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m.
The existing center consists of approximately 22,000 square feet of commercial space and two one-bedroom apartments. Ellsworth is seeking to add roughly 34,000 square feet of additional commercial space with 18 additional one-bedroom apartments above.
Said Township land use manager Sam Surtees: “Ellsworth purchased two adjacent residential properties, and he is seeking a variance to allow these lots to be used for additional parking facilities and stormwater management facilities. In addition, he will be building a kiosk and a gazebo at the entrance to the trailhead located there, which leads to the Astora property, owned by the Township, which is located between Millstone River and Big Bear Brook. Visitors will be able to park their cars there and bike or walk along the trail as well, and maps and other information about the trail will be provided in the kiosk.”
Originally, Ellsworth had anticipated building 24 residential units above the retail space, but, according to Surtees, “a structural engineer advised him that the existing retail building in the back cannot accommodate second-floor apartments. So that will have a second-floor facade, and the apartments will be built over new retail space. He will be knocking down the existing retail buildings at the front of the site, and replace them with new buildings, including the additional 34,000 square feet of retail space, and building 18 apartments above it. He plans to handle the reconstruction in phases, so that existing tenants will still be in operation.”
“I would expect that Ellsworth would need to come before SPRAB again, probably in May, and again in June. I anticipate he will be appearing before the Zoning Board for a final review by the end of August,” Surtees added.
The boarded-up property between the Ellsworth center and the train tracks, which is not owned by Ellsworth and has never had tenants, is not part of the redevelopment plan.
