Scaled-down Jugtown project wins backing from Princeton Historic Preservation Commission

🏗️ Driving the news: Princeton’s Historic Preservation Commission has endorsed a revised, three-story Jugtown redevelopment after the developer and Save Jugtown reached an unprecedented compromise to protect the historic Horner House.

Why it matters: The new plan replaces a larger, controversial addition with a separate, smaller building — safeguarding the historic structure, reducing the unit count, and easing neighborhood concerns about scale and character.

Catch up fast:

• The original proposal was a 45-foot, four-story addition attached to the Horner House.
• Residents and preservationists fiercely opposed it, saying it overwhelmed the historic structure.
• After HPC rejected the plan, the developer withdrew it and began meeting directly with Save Jugtown.
• The new design is a separate three-story building with 10 units — down from 15 — and a five-foot gap between old and new.

What they’re saying:

• Save Jugtown attorney Bruce Afran told the commission, “We have a compromise that works… Our critical concern was maintaining the physical integrity of the historic building.”
• Developer Daniel Barsky said the team spent a year “recreating” the project and designing a building “more compatible with the neighborhood.”
• Historian Clifford Zink praised the collaboration as “what the preservation ordinance intends.”

Between the lines: Commissioners raised concerns about parking, stucco color, and some contemporary design elements. But HPC members emphasized that the redesign’s preservation gains outweighed the shortcomings.

The vote: The HPC supported all requested variances needed to keep the Horner House fully intact — with only one dissenting vote, from longtime civil rights advocate Shirley Satterfield, who warned that “day laborers can’t live in these new buildings.”

➡️ What’s next

The project moves to the Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment, where the developer must secure multiple variances — including those tied to the affordable housing overlay.

Save Jugtown members and several HPC commissioners said they plan to testify in support of the project.

Princeton’s Historic Preservation Commission on Monday endorsed a dramatically scaled-down redevelopment proposal at the historic Jugtown crossroads — a plan developed through months of negotiations between an applicant and the neighborhood preservation group that once vehemently opposed the project.

The commission voted to support a new three-story residential building behind the 1760s Horner House, a landmark at Nassau and Harrison Streets, after developer RB Homes abandoned an earlier four-story attached addition that had drawn intense community backlash. Preservationists who fought that design now say the revised plan protects the historic structure and the character of Jugtown.

Last year, RB Homes sought to build a 45-foot attached addition that required demolition of the rear of the Horner House and would have towered over one of Princeton’s oldest surviving structures. That plan was compliant with the AHO-2 affordable housing overlay but ignited community outrage.

After the HPC rejected the original design, the developer withdrew the application and began negotiating with Save Jugtown, the neighborhood preservation group.

On Monday night, Save Jugtown attorney Bruce Afran told the HPC that the new design is something neither side imagined a year ago, Afran said:

“This is usually a room of conflict, so I’m happy to say we have a compromise that works,” Afran said. “Save Jugtown fully endorses this compromise and will support it at the Planning and Zoning Boards.”

Afran said the group’s critical concern was maintaining the physical integrity of the historic building.

“We believe this redesign accomplishes that,” Afran said. “From all public vantage points, the new building no longer overwhelms or envelops the Horner House.”

Architectural historian and Princeton resident Clifford Zink, speaking for Save Jugtown, thanked the commission and staff directly.

“We thank HPC for holding firm last year that the original proposal did not meet historic preservation standards,” he said. “We thank Elizabeth for her exhaustive work. We thank the developer and architect for genuine collaboration.”

Zink said the redesign reflects core preservation priorities: “Preserving the Horner House and reducing the height and mass is the number one priority.” He also added that several variances were needed only because the AHO-2 zone “never contemplated a site within a historic district.”

Resident Maggie Deppenbrock, who lives across the street, said the compromise shows how community engagement can shape development. “This shows preservation, reasonable development, and neighborhood character can be balanced,” she said. “And it shows our kids that civic engagement matters.”

Daniel Barsky of RB Homes said the revised plans are more compatible with the neighborhood and better preserve the historic streetscape.

Barsky walked commissioners through slides showing the reduced height, the physical separation from the Horner House, the shift in massing, the setback from Harrison Street, and new materials that will be used for the project. The new plan includes 10 units, down from the original 15, and two affordable units.

Asked whether the new building could be pushed further north, Barsky said the driveway shared with the neighboring Weichert Realtors building left no room for relocation.

While praising the compromise with the neighborhood, commission members identified several outstanding concerns.

Commissioner David Schure said he supported the compromise but wanted the Princeton Zoning Board alerted to the consequences of eliminating dedicated parking for the historic house.

“We must be fair to all the other applicants we see,” Schure said. He warned that removing parking from the Horner House could limit its future viability.

Commissioner Charlotte Friedman questioned the contemporary style of some elements in the new building. She told the team, “Balconies appear very modern; could the railing color match the iron ore rather than black?” and noted that “Round windows feel too modern.”

Chairperson Julie Capozzoli said she supported Save Jugtown’s perspective on exterior color: “I defer to Save Jugtown on color. They will see it every day.”

Staff preservationist Elizabeth Kim urged caution about archaeological impacts: “It is recommended that HPC include Section 10B-388 in the memo… and include the requirement that ground-penetrating radar be done prior to ground disturbance.”

Shirley Satterfield cast the lone dissenting vote because of concerns about affordability and displacement.

“We talk about historic Princeton, but we are losing its people,” she said. She noted that day laborers and longtime workers cannot afford to live in Princeton’s new developments.

The HPC approved all variances, including the crucial D variances that allow the Horner House to remain fully commercial inside, thereby avoiding interior demolition.

The proposal now moves to the Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment, where the developer will seek eight variances and one design waiver. The hearing is expected to be held early next year.