In a June 11 letter to Town Topics, Borough Councilman Roger Martindell outlined a litany of complaints against the developer of the garage, concluding that “a vote by Mayor and Council authorizing Phase 2 to proceed would amount to a song and a prayer.”
Martindell noted that “defects in the … foundation slab” have caused significant leaks in the basement of the garage, which was constructed during the first phase of the project.
Nassau HKT “has failed to provide any data that the garage leaks will not shorten the life of the structure or its electrical and elevator systems,” Martindell said.
Leaky basements, damp ceilings
Martindell’s concerns about the structural integrity of the parking garage were echoed by Borough resident Marvin Israel, who presented pictures of leaks in the garage basement to the Borough Council last May.
Israel explained in an interview this week that water is leaking from the garage’s ceiling and rising up through the basement.
“It’s going to eventually erode the structure of the garage as well as make the lower level very unpleasant to park in,” Israel said, noting that a foul odor permeated the basement of the garage when he was taking pictures for his report to the Borough Council.
Borough Councilman Kevin Wilkes ’83, an architect, explained that the developer “assumed that the pressure” from ground water under the garage “would be less than what it actually is.”
Israel said that the developer should have anticipated pressure from ground water, as the area the garage is built on used to be a pond.
“If you go underground on Spring Street, it’s no surprise that you should hit water,” Israel said, explaining that the street derived its name from the presence of a spring. He added that he has seen old photographs of the area clearly showing a body of water.
Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said that problems with water seepage in the garage had kept the basement closed until the end of 2007, but he added that the developer had completed repairs by the beginning of 2008. He explained that he is confident the garage’s structure is sound.
“It’s not unusual to have leaks in garages. You have leaks in the subway system in New York City,” Bruschi said. “We have gone through this process once, and we know how to fix it.”

Though Wilkes said the developer may have erred, he said he believes that erosion of the basement floor does not put the garage in danger of collapse.
“It was never the case that the building [was about to] fall down,” Wilkes said, explaining that ground-water problems only affect the basement and that the supports for the upper floors of the garage are intact.
Martindell, however, expressed more concern.
“Water appears to continue to infiltrate along the walls” of the garage, he said in an e-mail, possibly “corroding the iron support rods inside the concrete, as well as reaching the electrical and elevator systems.”
Martindell noted that the Borough has not “undertaken any complete independent analysis as to whether long-term water exposure to these elements of the structure poses a long-term threat to its integrity.”
Bruschi explained that Nassau HKT has compensated the Borough for the full cost of repairing the faulty basement floor and has provided the Borough with a $365,000 warranty to cover repairs within the next five years.
Five years may not be enough insurance, Martindell said. By the time significant structural problems with the garage become evident, “the developer will be off the hook,” and “the Borough will be responsible for all repairs,” he added.
The first phase
Nassau HKT was hired by the Borough to rebuild and redesign the area around the Princeton Public Library by constructing a parking garage and two buildings to house apartments and businesses.
The parking garage and one of the apartment buildings opened in 2004, but construction on the last building, which will be located in what was formerly the Spring Street parking lot, did not begin until this fall.
Legal disputes between the Borough and the developer delayed the start of the second phase of the project. Martindell told The Daily Princetonian in February that some points of dispute included when the developer would begin paying rent on the land and its financial liability for leaks and other problems with the garage.
Bruschi confirmed that the developer has begun excavating the lot and that the building will open in 16 to 18 months.
Bruschi defended the decision to proceed with the development, explaining that the project will be profitable only after all of its parts are completed.
“The whole idea of making money is based on the whole redevelopment project. That’s where the Borough will end up making money,” Bruschi explained. “If the project is going to be successful, it is going to depend on the second part.”
In a letter to the Town Topics, Nassau HKT principals Robert Powell and Jack Morrison said that in the long term, the garage will be a valuable investment.
“That structure, over the next 50 years, may well become one of the Borough’s most valuable financial assets as revenues continue to grow, but costs remain relatively flat,” Morrison and Powell wrote.
Powell did not return a request for comment.
Revenue shortfall
The parking garage’s construction has hurt the Borough financially in the short run.
In 2003, Bruschi estimated that the garage and land rent on the buildings would earn the Borough $375,298 more than retaining the extant parking lot through 2007 would have.
At a Borough Council meeting last June, however, Bruschi presented a report showing that, including the lost income from the surface parking lots that were replaced, the presence of the parking garage had already caused the Borough to lose more than $1 million.
Borough resident Mark Alexandridis disputed Bruschi’s claims, presenting his own spreadsheet at the meeting showing a total loss through 2007 of $3.1 million, according to Borough Council minutes.
Construction costs for the parking garage had reached about $13.7 million prior to its opening in 2004, the Town Topics reported.
Bruschi and council members cited various reasons for the discrepancies between the projected and actual revenues for the project.
Bruschi pointed to the delay in beginning the second phase of the project as a significant contributor to the shortfall. Without the land lease from the final building, revenues were significantly decreased.
Additionally, Bruschi said that the council did not implement parking fee increases that were incorporated into the 2003 predictions.
Borough Councilman Andrew Koontz explained that the Borough has had to hire “more employees to work at the garage than anticipated” because many residents are unable to use the automated payment system in place in the garage without assistance.
Wilkes, meanwhile, said that the closure of the basement for long stretches of time while repairs were being made cost the garage customers. Bruschi confirmed that about 50 of the garage’s 500 spots were unavailable at times due to the repairs.