The following editorial was first published in the News-Record on June 25.
A big decision will be before the Board of Trustees (BOT) on Monday, June 29. The governing body will be deciding the future of one of our most historic buildings and we welcome and encourage community feedback.
As some background, in late 2014, the Board of Trustees agreed to explore the sale of Village Hall for adaptive reuse purposes at the same time that it was pursuing renovation for municipal purposes. As a part of the requirements for adaptive reuse, it was mandated that the building must be preserved to strict historic standards.
Bids for the municipal renovation have been received along with two offers for the adaptive reuse of the building. South Orange Hotel Group is proposing a boutique hotel. A sample of their work includes the DeBary Inn (Summit). Landmark Hospitality is proposing a restaurant on the first floor with meeting space and a banquet hall on the second floor. A sample of their work includes Liberty House Restaurant inside Liberty State Park (Jersey City); Stone House at Stirling Ridge (Warren) and The Ryland Inn (Whitehouse Station).
A community forum was held on June 15 so that our residents and various stakeholders could see first hand what both groups were proposing and be able to give comments and ask questions. The full meeting video, the proposals and additional reference material can be found by visiting our website at www.SouthOrange.org.
I encourage everyone to review the materials and submit your comments to me at scollum@southorange.org and I will forward everything I receive to the full governing body. I also welcome you to join us on Monday, June 29 at 8:00 p.m. at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.
Sheena Collum
Village President
Find the proposals and preliminary plans for Village Hall here.
Find the video of the June 15 meeting here.
Read Village Green coverage of the June 15 meeting here.
Read Village Green coverage of the announcement of the June 29 meeting here.
