The Princeton Healthcare Task Force presented a review of proposals to relocate or expand the University Medical Center at Princeton (UMCP) at a Borough Council meeting Tuesday night.
The hospital would need to expand to more than 11.76 acres by 2010 if it does not relocate, according to Marvin Reed, chair of the Princeton Healthcare Task Force and former mayor and councilman, who presented the results of the study.
The current hospital facility covers 5.63 acres on Witherspoon Street.
If the hospital is not relocated, the task force suggested expanding to Franklin Avenue and constructing a 13-story building and a six-level parking garage.
If the hospital is relocated, Reed recommended the council permit the property to be rezoned for redevelopment.
The task force emphasized the importance of facilitating transportation to the hospital if it relocates. Reed said the hospital should consider sites that are accessible by public transportation and should participate in providing a community jitney or demand ride service to the new site.
The current site could be converted into a residential area, facilities for University faculty or graduate students, a retirement community or a mixed area of restaurants, shops and other commercial development, Reed said.
Reed also suggested that all redeveloped areas of the hospital site pay taxes.
Though the major and council members had lingering questions, every doubt regarding hospital expansion could not be addressed Tuesday night.
Councilman David Goldfarb questioned whether the hospital should to expand at all. He suggested that hospital members and task force members should be at the next meeting to discuss expansion and the reasons for it.
Mayor Joseph O'Neill surmised a plan during the meeting that resulted in a unanimously approved motion by the council.
"We cannot begin to plan without knowing the value of the hospital properties," O'Neill said. "We shouldn't plan yet. Instead, the hospital should plan zoning and then pay in escrow the services of consulting the property value."
Another member of the council, Roger Martindell, pointed out that the hospital relocation or expansion could affect the University.
He said that the proximity of the hospital could make a life or death difference in an emergency if the hospital moves to Route 1.
Additionally, if the University purchases the current hospital site, there is a question of whether or not it would pay taxes, Martindell said.
Officials at UMCP and the University have said that a move to Route 1 would not affect the speed of treatment for students.
These issues will continue to be debated at future meetings.
Read More
Yale University to join Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP)
David YunYale University has joined Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and the New York Public Library in one of the world’s largest library and archives preservation repositories and shared collections, Research Collections and Preservation Consortium, also known as ReCAP.
Yale University has joined Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and the New York Public Library in one of the world’s largest library and archives preservation repositories and shared collections, Research Collections and Preservation Consortium, also known as ReCAP.
Princeton rising junior passes away in cycling accident
Victoria DaviesKerry Grundlingh ’27 has passed away in a cycling accident near her home in South Africa.
Kerry Grundlingh ’27 has passed away in a cycling accident near her home in South Africa.
15 personas detenidas por ICE en Calle Harrison, explican funcionarios de Princeton
Luke GrippoSegún el alcalde de Princeton, Mark Freda, inicialmente los oficiales de inmigración solamente estaban en busca de una persona. Ana Paola Pazmiño, directora ejecutiva del grupo local de defensa de la inmigración, Resistencia en Acción NJ, reveló que los oficiales detuvieron a estas personas y les pusieron en una camioneta mientras ellos estaban de camino a su trabajo de paisajismo.
Según el alcalde de Princeton, Mark Freda, inicialmente los oficiales de inmigración solamente estaban en busca de una persona. Ana Paola Pazmiño, directora ejecutiva del grupo local de defensa de la inmigración, Resistencia en Acción NJ, reveló que los oficiales detuvieron a estas personas y les pusieron en una camioneta mientras ellos estaban de camino a su trabajo de paisajismo.