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PrincetonUniversity |
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Town/Gown Relations |
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Regional Economic ImpactWith an overall workforce of an estimated 12,238 (5,176 employees are benefits eligible, the remaining employees are students, casual hourly, and special contract), Princeton University is the largest private employer in Mercer County and one of the largest in central New Jersey. The institution's overall regional economic impact amounted to more than a billion dollars ($1.1 billion) for 2001-02. This is based on the University's total expenditures of approximately $697 million, along with the expenditures of more than 500,000 people attending events throughout the year on campus and the expenditures of the thousands of students and employees. Included in these statistics is the $23 million economic impact of the nationally acclaimed McCarter Theatre, whose facility is owned by the University (McCarter programming drew approximately 200,000 visitors last year, with an operating budget of $9.5 million and 151 full- and part-time employees). The University tries to purchase goods and services in New Jersey as much as possible. Approximately 99 percent of the $181 million spent on construction in 2001-02 went to New Jersey firms; and 60 percent of the $120 million spent on purchases went to New Jersey firms as well. Serving as a major employment center, Princeton was the source of approximately $10 million in New Jersey State income tax revenue from those on the University payroll. In addition, the University's intense economic activity created employment opportunities off campus at businesses and industries whose economic health is linked to the University. The non-University job-generation impact from University-related activities was estimated to be 10,000 in 2001-02. Princeton University continued to play an important role in attracting prestigious international corporations to central New Jersey, particularly to the University-developed Forrestal Center properties in Plainsboro and South Brunswick. These lands feature premier office, retail, and residential space as well as academic space, with an approximate assessed valuation of $940 million in Plainsboro and South Brunswick. The total Forrestal acreage in the two towns amounts to 2,034 acres, 630 of which the University has developed but no longer owns. Nearly 463 acres of the original Forrestal land holdings in Plainsboro on the east side of Route One have been preserved by the University as permanent open space. In addition, the University currently is working to preserve a significant amount of its land holdings as permanent open space on the west side of Route One in South Brunswick and Plainsboro and to keep development 1,000 feet from the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The Forrestal Center project has been lauded throughout the state as an example of responsible land use planning and quality development; it won particular praise for being New Jersey's first master planned multiuse development (PMUD), preceding the NJ Municipal Land Use Law that prescribed such a planning procedure. Since its inception 14 years ago, the University's Center for Photonic and Optoelectronic Materials (POEM) has formed research and development partnerships with approximately 150 New Jersey-based companies and entrepreneurs in a wide array of fields, ranging from aviation and environmental monitoring to medicine and telecommunications; this past year has been particularly productive, with POEM partnerships numbering 30. The economic impact for New Jersey of these partnerships in 2001-02 is estimated to be $400 million; the cumulative impact since 1988 has been $800 million. POEM's focus is on companies with fewer than 50 employees. For example, recently Sensors Unlimited was acquired for $900 million, and Epitaxx was acquired for $450 million -- both of these companies succeeding in large part because of POEM's assistance and technology. The importance of these partnerships can be seen by the fact that the State of New Jersey gleaned $15 million in state income tax from the capital gains and sales of just one of the POEM-assisted companies -- Sensors Unlimited. Organic electronics, biological imaging, and bio-nano informatics are representative areas of forward looking, interdisciplinary research led by POEM in partnership with industry and government. Also, POEM has launched an aggressive outreach effort to the venture and investment community to make them aware of the valuable technology created by POEM and more broadly at Princeton University. According to Moody's Investor Service Municipal Credit Research report, the University's positive effect on the local economy and the stability of its presence is the dominant factor in the Triple A bond rating for Princeton Township and the Princeton Regional School District and the Double A bond rating for Princeton Borough. Expenditures, 2001-02Total expenditures: $697 million Total payroll: $407.4 million (including students) Construction spending: $181 million on four major projects and 505 minor projects (extensive renovations and sprinkler system installation); since 1999, construction spending has amounted to over $540 million; in the past decade, spending has been about $800 million Employment, 2001-02Total number of employees receiving 12, 238 Benefits eligible: 5,176 Temporary (employed for a defined, 1,465 Students: 4,814 Casual hourly: 2,248 NJ State income taxes paid by University
employees: $10 million Visitors, 2001-02Estimated total: more than 500,000 (this number accounts for duplication for instance, many visitors attend more than one of the below-listed activities). McCarter Theatre: 195,000 Athletic events: 250,000 Concerts and performances (non-McCarter): 100,000 Art Museum: 69,000 Alumni-related events: 17,000 Orange Key tours: 25,200 Summer events (non-alumni-related conferences,
camps, and academic programs): 30,000 Commencement: 8,000 to 10,000 Firestone Library: 18,500 Cotsen Children's Collection: 3,400 Special passes: 8,200 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL): 2,200 Community Contributions 2001-02Property tax payments. The University owns approximately 4,000 acres for commercial and academic use in several central New Jersey municipalities, with significant holdings in Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, West Windsor Township, Plainsboro Township, and South Brunswick Township. Most of the academic properties are located in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, which serve as host to the University's main campus lands (500 acres). •The 2001-02 property and sewer taxes in the above-listed communities amounted to approximately $6.5 million. •The University was the largest taxpayer in both Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, paying $6.1 million in these two communities. •In Princeton Township, the University paid $2.8 million in property and sewer taxes ($2.3 in property taxes; $498,000 in sewer taxes). •In Princeton Borough, the University paid $3.3 million in property and sewer taxes ($1.9 in property taxes; $1.4 million in sewer taxes). Voluntary property tax payments on University housing. The total tax payment in both the borough and the township included hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes on housing for faculty, staff (including the official residence of the University president), and graduate students. This is housing that might qualify for tax-exemption under New Jersey state law. Taxes were paid in full on these residential properties -- voluntarily -- in order to ensure that the public school system would be compensated for school-aged children who might have -- but not necessarily -- dwelt in University-owned housing. Property tax payments on certain athletic facilities. The University paid an estimated $500,000 in property taxes on certain athletic facilities, including Princeton Stadium. Removing buildings from the tax rolls. The University's policy is to remove a building from the tax rolls only when 100 percent of the building is used for academic purposes. This is a voluntary gesture, because state law exempts colleges and universities from paying taxes on any portion of a building used for academic purposes. In addition, when a University property is removed from the tax rolls (a 100-percent academic building), the University, instead of abruptly ceasing making payments, will phase out or pay down the tax payments over a 10-year period. Again, this is a voluntary, and not a mandated, procedure. Payments for infrastructure improvements. The University spent approximately $150,000 for maintaining 8.5 miles of University-owned but publicly used roadways. In addition, the University paid a $15,000 electric bill for lighting Prospect Avenue. During the past decade, the institution has spent more than $2 million on crosswalk and road improvements on both University-owned and publicly used roadways. Fee payments 2001-02. In addition to taxes, the University spends a considerable amount of money in state and local government fees for permits, inspections, et cetera. This year it amounted to $1.1 million. Payments for maintenance of and improvements to publicly used facilities. The University annually spends hundreds of thousands of dollars for the maintenance of University-owned but publicly used facilities such as McCarter Theatre, an internationally renowned, Tony-award-winning regional arts facility. This year the University spent an estimated $200,000 to maintain McCarter. In addition the University contributed nearly $3 million in capital improvements to the theater in 2001-02. Last year the University financed the Princeton Garden Theatre's more than $2-million facelift; the Princeton Garden Theatre is the town's only movie theater, and its renovation was a major contribution toward the vitality of the downtown area and the quality of life for Princeton residents. And the upkeep of and renovations to the University train station, home to the "Dinky" shuttle train, including the construction of an adjacent parking lot, have cost the University more than $1.2 million since 1985. As well, the Historical Society of Princeton pays no rent to use a University-owned building on Nassau Street in the heart of Princeton Borough. This is worth about $60,000. Voluntary contribution to municipality 2001-02. The University makes an annual, unrestricted, voluntary cash contribution to Princeton Borough. In December 2001 this contribution amounted to an estimated $160,000, which consisted of $104,040 as a general donation plus $55,360 made on behalf of the University-owned McCarter Theatre property. Both of these contributions escalate each year by the same percentage as the municipal portion of the tax rate. This contribution is, of course, in addition to the cash contribution of hundreds of thousands of dollars the University makes to each municipality when the University voluntarily leaves certain properties on the tax rolls. Affordable housing contributions. The University pays both Princeton Borough and Princeton Township a contractual contribution earmarked for affordable housing. A new agreement for both communities should mean the following donations to the two communities' affordable housing funds: $80,000 in 2001 and $90,000 in 2002. The University's contributions to affordable housing through both cash and land gifts has amounted to an estimated $1.2 million since 1990. Service support and special gifts from 1995 through 2002. The University has contributed a significant number of gifts to the municipalities and many other community organizations, including: •$1,000,000 for cultural enrichment programs for the children of 9/11 victims and scholarships for students at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which trains firefighters and police officers. •$500,000 to the Princeton Public Library. •$500,000 to Princeton Regional Schools. •$430,000 to the Medical Center at Princeton, including capital campaign gifts and annual contributions to its operating budget. •$388,000 for emergency services, fire, and first aid (a $33,000 annual gift), including the purchase of a new rescue vehicle in 2001 for $155,000. •$300,000 to Princeton Borough for park redevelopment at Monument Drive. •$282,000 to Princeton Township for infrastructure and sewer projects. •$300,000 to assorted area charities in grants and memberships (the University donates approximately $50,000 per year). •$189,854 to the United Way. This figure includes the contributions from faculty, staff, and retirees from the main campus and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the University's institutional match of $22,679. The total University institutional and University employee contributions to the United Way from 1995 through 2001 has amounted to an estimated $1.1 million. •$100,000 to the Arts Council of Princeton for a new building project. •$100,000 to Princeton Township for open space preservation at the Institute Woods. •$50,000 to the Princeton YWCA capital campaign. •$40,000 to the Princeton Future downtown planning initiative. •$30,000 to Princeton Community Housing for the expansion of Elm Court. •$30,000 to "Curtain Calls," the Millennium New Year's Eve celebration. •$2 million in in-kind donations to various community nonprofit groups, excluding the McCarter Theatre and the Medical Center at Princeton. For example, the University established and still provides free Internet access and server use to the Princeton public schools, the library, senior citizen facilities, and municipal facilities. In addition, the University annually donates space and services to dozens of organizations (such as the Spirit of Princeton Fourth of July fireworks and the Hospital Fete, both of which are held on University athletic fields). A significant in-kind contribution is made to Princeton High School students who are allowed to enroll in University classes if they have excellent academic records and have completed the curriculum in the high school (at current tuition costs for 40 to 45 young people, this gift is worth an estimated $150,000 annually). |
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