Developer to demolish part of old hospital complex in Cedar
13 years 6 months ago - 13 years 4 months ago #1
by EsseXploreR
To Cedar Grove police, the vacant buildings on the old Essex County Hospital Center campus are nothing but a nuisance, and they won’t be sad when the buildings are knocked down.
The developer K. Hovnanian announced that demolition of a former firehouse, the hospital director’s home and residences for doctors and nurses will begin in a few weeks on the 20 acres of land west of Fairview Avenue.
The township police said since the campus closed three years ago they’ve dealt with numerous instances of trespassing, spurred by websites, TV shows and magazines glorifying ghost hunting and encouraging exploration of the abandoned buildings.
"For the most part, they’ve been curiosity seekers," said Cedar Grove police Capt. Richard Vanderstreet.
He described the buildings as an "attractive nuisance," a legal term for property that is potentially dangerous but enticing to trespassers, especially children.
"They’ve got into such a state of disrepair that they’ve become dangerous," Vanderstreet said.
Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo joined K. Hovnanian officials at a news conference Thursday in front of the firehouse, built in 1915 and now full of broken and boarded-up windows. They posed for pictures in front of a bright yellow trackhoe. A start date for the demolition hasn’t been set, because K. Hovnanian has yet to secure the necessary permits.
DiVincenzo said he asked the Red Bank-based developer, which owns the land, to expedite tearing down the buildings because they’ve become safety hazards and eyesores in the community.
The land could become part of a 65-acre park, if the Cedar Grove township council agrees to a 464-townhome development proposed by K. Hovnanian.
The county executive is urging the council to agree to the deal, because then K. Hovnanian would drop a breach-of-contract lawsuit over the 90-acre portion of the hospital campus on the east side of Fairview Avenue. The county was going to sell that land to the developer, but in 2008 the county decided it should be a park instead.
K. Hovnanian has now offered a compromise, to pay the county $11.25 million for half of the land, 45 acres where the townhomes would be built, and let the county have the rest to use for passive recreation, DiVincenzo said.
Until this is resolved, DiVincenzo said he can’t finish tearing down the rest of the old hospital’s decrepit structures.
"I cannot go ahead and touch any of those buildings on the other side as long as we’re in litigation," he said.
Joe Riggs, group president for K. Hovnanian, said everyone’s better off coming to a settlement soon.
The developer and county executive are expected to come to the Cedar Grove council meeting Monday night to answer questions from the community about the proposal, said councilman Joseph Chiusolo.
Robert L. Williams, a Verona resident who writes about local history, said it’s a shame the county didn’t try to preserve the once-grand buildings, the vast majority of which were built in the early 1900s.
"It would’ve been interesting to consider some sort of adaptive use to make the place into some sort of office park where space could’ve been rented out," he said.
"It's better to regret something you did, then something you didn't do"
abandonednjurbex.blogspot.com/
To Cedar Grove police, the vacant buildings on the old Essex County Hospital Center campus are nothing but a nuisance, and they won’t be sad when the buildings are knocked down.
The developer K. Hovnanian announced that demolition of a former firehouse, the hospital director’s home and residences for doctors and nurses will begin in a few weeks on the 20 acres of land west of Fairview Avenue.
The township police said since the campus closed three years ago they’ve dealt with numerous instances of trespassing, spurred by websites, TV shows and magazines glorifying ghost hunting and encouraging exploration of the abandoned buildings.
"For the most part, they’ve been curiosity seekers," said Cedar Grove police Capt. Richard Vanderstreet.
He described the buildings as an "attractive nuisance," a legal term for property that is potentially dangerous but enticing to trespassers, especially children.
"They’ve got into such a state of disrepair that they’ve become dangerous," Vanderstreet said.
Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo joined K. Hovnanian officials at a news conference Thursday in front of the firehouse, built in 1915 and now full of broken and boarded-up windows. They posed for pictures in front of a bright yellow trackhoe. A start date for the demolition hasn’t been set, because K. Hovnanian has yet to secure the necessary permits.
DiVincenzo said he asked the Red Bank-based developer, which owns the land, to expedite tearing down the buildings because they’ve become safety hazards and eyesores in the community.
The land could become part of a 65-acre park, if the Cedar Grove township council agrees to a 464-townhome development proposed by K. Hovnanian.
The county executive is urging the council to agree to the deal, because then K. Hovnanian would drop a breach-of-contract lawsuit over the 90-acre portion of the hospital campus on the east side of Fairview Avenue. The county was going to sell that land to the developer, but in 2008 the county decided it should be a park instead.
K. Hovnanian has now offered a compromise, to pay the county $11.25 million for half of the land, 45 acres where the townhomes would be built, and let the county have the rest to use for passive recreation, DiVincenzo said.
Until this is resolved, DiVincenzo said he can’t finish tearing down the rest of the old hospital’s decrepit structures.
"I cannot go ahead and touch any of those buildings on the other side as long as we’re in litigation," he said.
Joe Riggs, group president for K. Hovnanian, said everyone’s better off coming to a settlement soon.
The developer and county executive are expected to come to the Cedar Grove council meeting Monday night to answer questions from the community about the proposal, said councilman Joseph Chiusolo.
Robert L. Williams, a Verona resident who writes about local history, said it’s a shame the county didn’t try to preserve the once-grand buildings, the vast majority of which were built in the early 1900s.
"It would’ve been interesting to consider some sort of adaptive use to make the place into some sort of office park where space could’ve been rented out," he said.
"It's better to regret something you did, then something you didn't do"
abandonednjurbex.blogspot.com/
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