Princeton’s Delays Left the Walmart Apartments Half-Built and Rotting
By Bakr Al Qaraghuli, Editor
September 13, 2025
For over a year now, the half-built apartment complex at 599 W. Princeton Drive, the old Walmart site, has stood as a symbol of delay, mismanagement, and missed opportunity. Officially, the problem is “substandard structures.” But when you trace the city’s own notices and timelines, a clearer story emerges: the city’s actions kept the project locked in neutral, pushing critical repair work out of the dry season and into the rain.
April 2024: A demolition order on 10 days’ notice
On April 18, 2024, Princeton’s Code Enforcement issued its first violation notice against the project. The letter, signed by officer Anthony Veney, declared the buildings “substandard” and ordered demolition of the structures within ten days. No photographs. The letter did not include any engineering details. Just a broad demand that the complex be removed, with a threat of municipal court if the owner didn’t comply.
That order effectively froze the site. Work could not proceed while demolition was pending, but the city never followed through. Instead, a month later, it issued a completely new notice.
May 2024: A replacement notice with details
On May 17, 2024, the Building Official, Ismael “Izzy” Rivera, sent a new notice of violation. This one was far more detailed. It cited mold on studs and joists, degraded flooring, structural deficiencies, improper Tyvek installation, roof leaks, electrical violations under the 2023 NEC, and lack of fire protection systems. Photos were attached.
This May letter carried a new compliance deadline of June 16, 2024. It warned that if violations were not corrected, a public hearing would be called to decide whether the buildings had to be repaired, secured, or demolished.
That meant the April demolition order was quietly shelved. But the month lost between April and May, with construction halted, was a month when the buildings could have been sealed against the weather.
July 2024: Hearing delayed into August
The June deadline passed, but the city didn’t schedule a hearing until late July. The official Notice of Hearing, dated July 25, 2024, set the case for August 12.
That was nearly three months after the May violation and almost four months after the April violation. By then, the summer dry window was slipping away.
At the hearing, the Housing Standards Commission had the authority to order repairs, securing, or demolition. But because of the city’s delay, any order issued would land squarely in the rainy season, when sealing and remediation work becomes far more difficult and expensive.
The pattern: delays at every critical point
- April: A harsh demolition order freezes work.
- May: The replacement notice erases April’s timeline, forcing another wait.
- July–August: Nearly three months pass before a hearing is even held.
At every stage, the city’s process guaranteed one thing: lost time.
The consequences
These lost months matter. Mold spreads. Wood warps. Rainwater intrusion accelerates structural damage. The very conditions cited in the city’s May notice grew worse, not better, while the project sat idle.
By March 2025, when the developer finally attempted to move forward, the city stopped permits again over outstanding balances, even though previous owners had been allowed to defer fees. Again, the timing aligned with the rainy season.
Now, in September 2025, the project is still stalled. No clear plan exists. Another dry season is slipping away.
Why it matters
The city frames this as a matter of safety. But the record shows something more troubling: inconsistent enforcement, procedural delays, and decisions that repeatedly undercut timely repair.
Princeton residents should ask:
- Why was the April demolition order issued, only to be replaced weeks later with a different notice?
- Why did it take until late July to schedule a hearing, when the violations were already documented in April?
- Why were previous owners given leniency on fees, while the current owners faced stricter terms?
Whether this was incompetence or intentional obstruction, the result is the same: a prime development site on our main road remains rotting in the rain, year after year.
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Sources
- April 18, 2024 Notice of Violation
- May 17, 2024 Notice of Violation
- July 25, 2024 Notice of Hearing