Updated 12:09 a.m. October 13, 2014: Village Administrator Barry Lewis reports, “The Village, and specifically the Board of Adjustment, received a letter from the Attorneys for Seton Hall advising that they were withdrawing their pending use variance application in which they sought approval for medical studies use on the Marylawn site. At this time, we are not aware if SHU continues to have any interest in the site.”
The Montrose Park Historic District Association has reported that the “Village government has been informed that Seton Hall University has withdrawn its request to rezone the Marylawn site, at Scotland and Montrose, for use as a mini campus.”
Village Administrator Barry Lewis has confirmed that Seton Hall is withdrawing the pending use variance application seeking approval to convert the site to a graduate medical program campus.
However, Lewis said that the Village is “not aware if SHU continues to have interest in the site.”
Village Green has reached out to Seton Hall for clarification. Lewis’ response implies that the university could still propose another use for the site.
The university was seeking variances that would have allowed it to buy and convert the Marylawn of the Oranges Academy and the Graves House at Scotland Road and Montrose Avenue into academic and administrative buildings and construct a 202-space parking lot.
The university presented testimony related to the proposal to the South Orange Zoning Board of Adjustment on four occasions beginning in May. At the last presentation in September, the university sent two experts to testify: one expert answered questions about the traffic impact of the proposed conversion; another presented information on a proposed jitney service that would shuttle students from a parking deck at Seton Hall’s main campus to the Marylawn site.
At the September 2 meeting, the Zoning Board requested more information on the timing of the jitney service. In addition, the university was next taking the proposal to the Historic Preservation Commission after experts said that renovation of the Graves House would not be cost effective.
