After a series of delays and negotiations, the Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to convert the unfinished Hulfish North parking garage at Paul Robeson Place into roughly 100 luxury condominiums.
The decision comes after nearly 14 years of conflict between the Borough and Palmer Square Management, who is handling the project, as well a series of recent reservations by council members that further delayed a decision.
"I was very pleased [with the outcome]," Borough mayor Joe O'Neill said yesterday. "It will bring close to $2 million in tax revenue to the Borough and its schools. This is a big deal."
O'Neill said he was not surprised the resolution had passed, though he had not expected the vote to be unanimous.
The plans were discussed previously at the Feb. 4 council meeting, but the vote was delayed to allow for the negotiation of several revisions.
Principal clarifications dealt with the incomplete work of the Landscape Committee, the immediate accommodation of families that qualify for affordable housing when a current Palmer Square tenant has to be removed and the tightening of language related to sewer-improvement costs, Borough attorney Michael Herbert said at the meeting.
"As a result of extended discussion we have narrowed the ambiguity of the agreement substantially," council member Roger Martindell said. "It is not perfect, but it's time we got on with it."
Palmer Square Management began the Hulfish North project in 1990 after gaining approval from the Princeton Regional Planning Board, but it failed to complete the final 97 residential units, according to the text of the resolution.
A deal established last December between then-mayor Marvin Reed and Palmer Square principal partners Oded and Henry Aboodi promised Borough approval for the remaining development in exchange for 10 units of subsidized affordable housing in the new complex. It also extended the total number of residential units from 97 to 100.
At the meeting, discussion focused primarily on the revisions, but Martindell extended the conversation toward the end of the meeting, proposing an amendment to the resolution that would include a number of penalties if Palmer Square failed to fulfill its obligations within the negotiated five-year period. Martindell did not specify the exact form the proposed penalties would take.
"I always thought it was appropriate to have a kicker since there are a lot of carrots for Palmer Square in the agreement and not a lot of sticks considering that this project has already gone on for far more than 5 years," Martindell said.
The amendment was voted down 3 to 2. Had it been approved, it would have led to a closed Council session, further negotiations and yet another delay in the vote.
"I would like Palmer Square to know this has been an open and frank discussion and we have no intentions to talk to the Planning Board about any kinds of penalties in the future," council member Wendy Benchley said before she voted to approve the resolution. "We have all been negotiating in good faith."
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