AvalonBay construction halted due to on-site contamination

Housing developer AvalonBay began removing covered piles of contaminated soil from its construction site on Witherspoon Street in Princeton on Tuesday.

The contamination had stalled construction on the 280-unit AvalonBay apartment complex since its discovery through environmental testing in August and September. Construction resumed last week, according to AvalonBay Senior Vice President for New Jersey Ron Ladell.

According to Municipal Engineer Robert Kiser, whose department is monitoring the removal of the contaminated soil, the material is being hauled to Bethlehem, Pa.

Kiser estimated that it will take two to three months for all of the material to be removed from the site.

Mayor of Princeton Liz Lempert explained while AvalonBay is responsible for moving the piles of contaminated materials, the process will be regulated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and monitored by town municipal staff.

According to the Avalon Bay website, the apartment complex is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016. Lempert remarked that she has not heard from Avalon Bay whether this is still the expected completion date.

Ladell said that the delivery of the apartment units is tentatively scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.

“Beginning of last week, they actually resumed construction with their masons on site, constructing the elevator shafts and the staircases,” Kiser said.

The construction will continue as the contaminated materials are removed from the site, and after a certain point, the framers will come back and continue to construct the main portions of the building, Kiser said.

Town Council President Bernard Miller explained that he expects the several-week-long break in work to affect the projected completion date.

“I think it's going to be difficult for them to make that up,” he said.

He added that if Avalon Bay does not encounter any future problems, construction should continue to progress.

The delays largely came from environmental remediation at the construction site earlier this fall. EcolSciences, Inc. conducted remedial site investigations in late August and early September and prepared a report for submission to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. According to theSept. 21 report, samples of site material contained levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and traces of metals that exceeded the NJDEP Residential Direct Contact Soil Remediation Standards.

Of the 280-unit complex, 56 apartments will be designated affordable housing.

“I do think it's going to be an attractive place for graduate students and even for recent grads who are sticking around the area who might be working locally, trying to start a business, who really love it here and want to try to stay,"Lempert said.

On the other hand, opponents of the AvalonBay construction criticize the project's scale, which will be the largest development in Princeton.

“The sheer size of the development and its proximity to a smaller scale neighborhood has been challenging, difficult, and controversial,” Lempert said.

However, she noted that despite the controversial aspects of the AvalonBay construction, Princeton does need more apartments and affordable housing, so the complex will fill a need in the community.

Sarah Major, manager of housing services at the University, noted that housing in the town of Princeton tends to be expensive for graduate students.

“If you go a little bit outside of Princeton, you'll save quite a bit of money,” she said.

She said that while some graduate students may apply for affordable housing, like the units that will be available in the AvalonBay development,the rents may be too high for graduate students at AvalonBay because of high competition for low-to-moderate income housing in Princeton.

“It’s usually a waiting game with affordable housing. You might put in an application and it might be six months until you’re notified that an apartment is ready, or maybe it’s longer, so I think it’s frustrating to try and wait.”

However, she also expressed that University graduate students tend to find the kind of off-campus housing they are looking for by using the resources on Princeton’s off-campus housing website.

Avalon Bay has not yet provided the town with information about the market rates for the new apartments, according to Miller. Ladell said prices will be available a few months prior to the opening of the units.

Miller said that Avalon Bay will also select an outside agency to determine who qualifies for the affordable housing units.

He also noted ongoing litigation about what the affordable housing needs are for the Princeton community.

“We have a number of affordable units in addition to the affordable units in the Avalon Bay building, and in the pipeline,” he said, adding that he expects that the town will be required to build more affordable housing units in the future.