07/14/2020
News of 7/11/20 - Morris NewsBee:
Abbey redevelopment plan now being eyed for late August or early September in Morris Township
By JAMES LENT Editor
July 13, 2020 Morris NewsBee
MORRIS TWP. – The redevelopment hearing for The Abbey on Madison Avenue, originally scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, has been put off to an as yet undetermined date and site while the Township Committee grapples with logistics during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Cathy Wilson was expected to make the announcement of the postponement at the 7 p,m. Wednesday, July 15 Township Committee meeting to be held via Zoom.
“We are still looking at possible venues,” Wilson said Monday.
She said she thought she had secured an arrangement with the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) to hold the meeting on July 21 which would have allowed for social distancing and still hold enough people. She said she expects the redevelopment hearing to attract from 100 to 200 people.
But Wilson said the township found a contradiction in wording from the governor’s directive that eliminates MPAC as a possible meeting location.
“Right now, we’re looking at two dates, (Wednesday) Aug. 26 and (Thursday) Sept. 3,” Wilson said. “Finding the proper venue is the next step.”
Wilson said she would rather hold the meeting indoors but said an outdoor location would also be considered.
Previous locations mentioned by the Township Committee earlier included the Mennen Arena on East Hanover Avenue and Ginty Field on Woodland Avenue.
“We’ve gotten a lot of suggestions for a place to hold it,” Wilson said.
The hearing – to be held by the Township Committee – will not be held on Zoom and will await a time when the public meeting can be held live, whenever that may be, according to Wilson.
For now, virtual Zoom meetings are continuing for the Township Committee. Gov. Phil Murphy has declared that public settings can hold up to 50 percent of capacity provided there is adequate six-foot social distancing.
Mayor Wilson said the Township Committee chambers could hold about 50 people under that standard.
The committee is still worried what that would entail for future township meetings. Committeemen Peter Mancuso said at the June 17 committee meeting he is not comfortable with meetings opening up just yet, citing continued worries about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Township Attorney Scott Carlson had asked the committee to “pump the brakes” on consideration of opening up the Township Committee meeting to live participation just yet.
“We should do as much business as we can by Zoom,” he said, adding the committee might be “unable to meet again for the balance of the summer” or even for the rest of the year.
But he added at some point in time meetings will continue live. Wilson said she would be willing to consider re-opening.
A home furnishings store and a restaurant, which may include a wine bar, are envisioned new uses for The Abbey in a redevelopment plan introduced at the Township Committee meeting March 18.
If the redevelopment plan is approved by the Township Committee after the public hearing, a site plan would be developed and voted on by the Planning Board.
The site-plan process would likely take several meetings and would include many opportunities for questions and comments from the public, said Mayor Cathy Wilson.
History Of The Abbey
The Abbey, also known as Alnwick Hall, was built in 1904 for Edward Meany, New Jersey Judge Advocate General and director of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., and his family.
The brick manor home covering 21,000 square feet is based on the design of Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England. It was one of the large homes that lined “Millionaire’s Row,” a stretch of Madison Avenue between Morristown and Madison, during the Gilded Age.
The Abbey was owned by William and Juliette Gubelmann from 1930 to 1960. It then was used as St. Mark’s Lutheran Church before being converted to an office building. In 1985, it was listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.
NYC Skyline Realty bought the property in 2008 and it has been vacant since then.
In 2017, it was used as the Mansion in May Designer Showhouse and Gardens, a fundraising event of the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center, with a variety of designers showing their work in different rooms and sections of the building.
The Plan
The redevelopment plan, created by Hoboken planning firm Phillips Preiss Grygiel Leheny Hughes, would permit about 14,000 square feet of the existing Abbey to be used for retail gallery or showroom space, to be spread roughly evenly across the first and second floors, and a new modern gallery of about 15,000 square feet, spread across two floors.
It also would allow a restaurant and associated wine bar of about 15,000 square feet, containing a single-story restaurant with indoor seating and food and beverage preparation space. A maximum of 120 seats are permitted inside the restaurant and a maximum of 44 seats inside at the wine bar.
An outdoor patio area no larger than 11,000 square feet could be used to display of merchandise either north or south of the restaurant. No outdoor dining, food service, or waiter or waitress service would be permitted.
Demolition, Construction
The plan provides for demolition of the long, narrow southern wing of the Abbey. The wing previously was used as service quarters and was expanded in 1984 to convert the building professional offices.
According to the redevelopment plan, “The demolition will leave the main body of the Abbey intact, an area that includes all of the most significant portions of the building, including the great hall, library, dining room, breakfast room and drawing rooms.”
Two wings would be built to house the store and the restaurant. The wings would be connected to the main building by hallways running parallel to Madison Avenue. The wing with the store would be two stories and the wing with the restaurant, wine bar and kitchen facilities would be one story.
The redevelopment plan says one goal is to retain and preserve a significant portion of the existing front lawn along Madison Avenue and extending to the corner of Canfield Road.
The existing entry drive from Madison Avenue would be kept as a two-way driveway, and two more driveways could be built from Canfield Road.
Part of Canfield immediately west of the intersection of Canfield and Madison Avenue would be realigned to form a four-way intersection with Punch Bowl Road.
The project would include public sidewalks along Madison Avenue and Canfield Road and paved walking paths on the property to link The Abbey’s front door to the main pedestrian entrance of the new wing. Walking paths also would be built to the rear of the completed building from parking areas.
