The Nassau Streetscape Improvement Project, a new, large-scale construction effort, is set to launch in the spring of 2025. The project will impact the north side of Nassau Street, from Chamber Street to Moore Street, and is estimated to cost $6.5 million.
Following a major renovation of Witherspoon Street that aimed to make the town more walkable, it’s Nassau Street’s turn for a renewal. According to Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, the Nassau Street sidewalk hasn’t been renovated in over 30 years. It will soon have new pavement, planters, trash cans, and benches.
“It’s been many, many decades since we really did an improvement project, and it’s a main street of Princeton,” Princeton Town Councilmember Michelle Pirone Lambros told The Daily Princetonian. “It’s about time we did it.”
Nassau Streetscape Improvement Project map of impacted area.
Obtained from the September 9, 2024 Princeton Council Agenda Packet.
According to Experience Princeton — a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Princeton, NJ — revitalization leader Isaac Kremer, project development for Nassau Street improvements began in 2016 with basic design guidelines. Upon further investigation, however, municipal leaders felt that more could be done to revitalize the town. Eventually, a meeting with Arterial, LLC occurred in January 2023, during which the current design was chosen. Following more stakeholder meetings and an open house on June 14, 2023, the final design was put in place.
“[Arterial, LLC]’s public engagement and outreach is also some of the finest that I’ve seen in my career,” Kramer wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “They have many ways to bring people into the work and elicit their feedback in meaningful ways at multiple points in the design process.”
While the construction project was created with community consultation, it remains unclear how local businesses will be impacted. When asked about this impact, Freda stated, “The businesses will be impacted. I mean, there’s just no way around it, because the sidewalk comes all the way up to their front door.”
Both Freda and Lambros emphasized the community outreach the project was based upon.
“We have, I think, done a lot of outreach,” Freda said. “There’s another group in Princeton called Experience Princeton … I think they’ve been trying to tell people also about this.”
“We have reached out and had many conversations … their concerns were our concerns. They wanted the town to look nicer. They wanted it more accessible for pedestrians,” Lambros added.
“They redid all of Witherspoon Street in the last two years, and it’s a lot more walkable now, which is nice,” Tom Willimer, a counter staff employee at Princeton Record Exchange, told the ‘Prince.’ “So, if they do the sort of same stuff for Nassau Street, then that would also be cool.”
“[From] the business side, any sort of foot traffic is good for the area,” he added. “The easier it is to walk around Princeton, the better.”
However, not all businesses agree with the town’s claim that they were made aware of this construction.
When reporters from the ‘Prince’ asked Josh Klingele, an outfitter and inventory coordinator at the Fleet Feet Princeton located on Nassau Street, about the project, he first responded by saying, “That’s total news to me.”
“I feel like there’s always construction, and we haven’t noticed any major impacts on business. Somehow Princetonians still find a way to come out and find our shop,” Klingele said after being made aware of the project’s goals.
While there are some concerns, most people involved in the project still have a positive outlook and hope that the project can be completed by the end of 2025, just in time for the opening of the University Art Museum. Some in the town, like Freda, hope that this new design will make Princeton a more enjoyable place for residents, students, and tourists alike in the long run.
“Now, people usually do not appreciate the work while it’s going on, but afterwards, we go look at it and go, ‘this is pretty darn nice!’” Freda said.
Kimberly Vasta is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Christopher Bao is an assistant News editor and the accessibility director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Princeton, N.J. and typically covers town politics and life.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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