Preservation

Since its founding in 1930, the Institute and its scholars have been devoted to solving complex questions in order to advance society’s understanding of the world. The Institute recognizes that its bucolic home in Princeton, New Jersey, plays a central role in encouraging the work and well-being of its scholars. As a result, the Institute considers it a priority and a privilege to be a responsible member of the Princeton community.

From the beginning, the Institute has been committed to the preservation and expansion of protected lands throughout Princeton. Whether conveying land to the State of New Jersey for the enlargement of the Princeton Battlefield State Park, or preserving more than 600 acres of land adjacent to the Battlefield Park, we have long sought to protect these lands and ensure their existence and accessibility for generations to come.

As we developed plans for Faculty Housing, IAS worked to ensure that our plans were aligned with the preservation goals of the community. Preservation has been at the heart of our work, which is why we have committed to reduce the original footprint of the Institute’s faculty housing project by replacing seven single family home lots with eight additional townhouses, for a total of 16, all located east of Gödel Lane on Maxwell’s Field. The new plan avoids any development within the Princeton Battlefield National Historic Landmark boundary, designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1961. Under the new plan, the Civil War Trust, through its Campaign 1776 initiative to protect Revolutionary War battlefields, will purchase 14.85 acres of land from the Institute, to be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as an addition to the existing Princeton Battlefield State Park. 

IAS has preserved just over 635 acres of land in Princeton:

• CONVEYED 32 acres to the Battlefield Park in 1973 (A 60% increase in the park’s size).
• CONVEYED 14.85 acres of IAS property adjacent to the park (including a 200 foot buffer) to the Civil War Trust, which will be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as an addition to the existing Princeton Battlefield State Park.
• PRESERVED 589 acres in 1997 by relinquishing development rights on the land, making it part of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres Program.