Meet Kevin

Kevin Wilkes is currently completing his third year as an elected Borough Council member. He is also a local business owner, founding his company, Princeton Design Guild (PDG), in 1986 to design and build residences in the Princeton area. PDG is an award-winning architecture, construction and custom wood-working firm, locally employing 8 professionals, craftsmen and skilled workers.

In addition to running PDG, Kevin has worked as Princeton Township Building Inspector (1991-1994). He also taught as an adjunct special lecturer at the School of Architecture at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he served not only as a teacher from 1986 until 2004, but also but also as a mentor to aspiring architects by offering them career guidance through internships and full time employment at PDG.

A Princeton resident since the 1970′s, Kevin has long taken an active role in Princeton’s growth plans. He joined Princeton Future, a group chartered with fostering dialogue among citizens and analyzing local design improvement strategies in order to forge a community-based vision for our town’s future.

Kevin has also worked hard to create arts-themed community building events and installations, mobilizing a large team of dedicated volunteers. Two of the most significant of these endeavors – Quark Park and Writer’s Block - were large scale, award-winning public events that drew the people together and generated long-lasting spirit and sense of community for our downtown.

A Princeton University graduate, Kevin received his BA in Architecture in 1983. He went on to receive his Masters in Architecture from Yale University in 1991. He currently lives on North Harrison Street with his faithful English Bulldog, Tara.

Community arts producer

Together with many volunteers, I have created and built arts and public projects that gave expression to our town’s artistic forces: Quark Park and the Battle Monument lighting

Community-based Planner

My work with Princeton Future has generated valuable input on far-ranging issues such as growth of the downtown business district, future use of the Medical Center and Merwick sites and development of the Witherspoon Street corridor.