Village Hall
SOUTH ORANGE — Members of the South Orange Historic Preservation Commission attended the Sept. 8 Board of Trustees meeting to oppose the possible sale of Village Hall. In a letter sent to the board, of which excerpts were read at the meeting, HPC members called Village Hall “the heart of the village” and asked board members to reconsider selling the historic building.
The board had voted unanimously June 23 to pursue the option of advertising a Request for Proposal for Village Hall, which is currently under renovation. On Aug. 11, the board unanimously passed Resolution No. 2014-242, awarding an $8,500 contract to JGSC Group LLC of Merchantville to serve as marketing consultant for the RFP for the sale and redevelopment of Village Hall.
The village currently has an RFP out for the site. Nevertheless the board has stressed several times that there are no definite plans to sell Village Hall; board members would merely like to know all their options regarding the building, which is a local, state and national historic landmark.
“The HPC would like to emphasize the importance of preserving South Orange Village Hall as a building owned and run by South Orange Village,” HPC member Elyse Carter said, reading aloud from the letter. “We realize there are challenges in the renovation of this building, but the long-term value of saving this historic building goes way beyond the cost of its renovation.
“Village Hall is the heart of the village,” Carter continued. “It is our iconic architectural structure and its function as the municipal center of the village is of utmost importance. It reminds us of the history of this town, of families settling here and raising their families here for many generations. We all chose to live in South Orange for a lot of reasons, but we were drawn here by the beauty and charm of this community, where the downtown was alive and well and vibrant, where the village maintained its cultural and historic character, and where many buildings have been repurposed for the 21st century. Historic buildings connect us to our past and they enrich us all.”
Critics of a Village Hall sale are concerned that the building’s facade may eventually be renovated, resulting in the destruction of a village landmark.
At the Sept. 8 meeting, Trustee Sheena Collum assured Carter and the other HPC members that whoever buys Village Hall — if it is indeed sold — would not be allowed to change the building’s facade.
Village President Alex Torpey promised that the village would not move forward with selling Village Hall without the HPC’s input.
“We’re not going to do anything without consulting you guys fully,” Torpey told the HPC members present at the meeting.
HPC members Carter and Amy Dahn also questioned the economic prudence of selling Village Hall after the village has already spent funds to commission a renovation plan and to abate its asbestos issues. Dahn said the wisest economic move would be for the village to maintain ownership.
South Orange business owner Bob Barnett, a former village resident, agreed with Carter and Dahn that it would make the most fiscal sense for the village to maintain ownership.
“I think that the board needs to recognize the fact that some costs have been spent,” Barnett said at the Sept. 8 meeting, stressing that keeping the building turns it into an investment rather than a sunk cost. “New York did not sell pieces of Central Park when it came into a downfall of financials. The United States did not auction off the Statue of Liberty or put out an RFP to auction off the Statue of Liberty.
“Please to do not consider the RFPs that are out,” Barnett concluded.
Although no residents at the Sept. 8 meeting spoke in favor of selling Village Hall, residents at previous meetings have done so.
At the June 23 meeting, South Orange resident Marian Cutler begged board members to sell the building, saying that South Orange has not historically done well with capital improvement projects. Cutler told trustees that village officials can obviously function without the building, as they are doing now during renovation.
“It is on letterhead — I’m looking at it right now; just because it’s there doesn’t mean that that’s the way to continue. Looking backwards is not the way to look forward as a town,” Cutler said June 23. “Please see if someone else will take this albatross.”
At the end of the Village Hall discussion Sept. 8, Torpey encouraged resident with opinions and ideas regarding Village Hall to contact him. His email is atorpey@southorange.org.