The opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Village Green or its editors.
If you care about Village Hall, please come to tonight’s Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees. While the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., the Trustees will be in closed session until 8 p.m. when the meeting opens for the public.
The Trustees have called a Special Meeting and will be voting on one of three resolutions. One to appoint a contractor to complete the restoration of Village Hall as its intended municipal use; or two different adaptive redevelopment proposals: a boutique hotel OR a restaurant. While the Trustees will be voting on the above resolutions, the financials and background information regarding all proposals for Village Hall — restoration for municipal use as well as adaptive reuse – have not yet been and may never be shared with the public.
While previously, Village Hall was not very functional as municipal space before it was gutted in preparation for restoration, the building now has the opportunity to be appropriately configured for both the modern public and office space of a distinguished Municipal Building. Village Hall is the iconic structure of South Orange. It is the compass rose to downtown and represents the history of countless significant moments in our Village history. Selling this building devalues our community and its history. A municipal building is not a simple office building and cannot be compared to simple office space.
If we sell Village Hall, we will forever lose the ability to care for the building. Although the Village President and Board of Trustees are proposing an historic preservation easement to protect the façade of the building if sold to a developer, this easement will not fully protect the building. A developer who purchases Village Hall can go belly-up and then the building could go empty for years. Think of Village Hall in foreclosure? Or, the Village purchasing it back at market rates? Moreover, a National Landmark in private ownership can be torn down. To add to the loss of control of our Village Hall, we would also be losing control of the Parking Lot immediately adjacent to Village Hall. Haven’t we made that mistake before with NJ Transit and the SOPAC lot? Should we repeat that mistake?
As noted above, it is very important that all of the financials and background information regarding all proposals for Village Hall — restoration for municipal use as well as adaptive reuse – be shared with the public. A boutique hotel does sound sexy, but Village Hall is not the appropriate location – think about the Graves Mansion and how it and the largest private ballroom could be used as a draw to our community for guests, conferences, wedding, and more; plus, it would be immediately adjacent to the train line. Haven’t you witnessed restaurants come and go — the rate of restaurant success is low. Both of the adaptive reuse proposals are risky and bottom line in the location of Village Hall would have insufficient parking.
I strongly urge South Orange Residents to come out in favor of restoring Village Hall for its intended purpose — the venerable and worthy municipal use. Village Hall is the iconic structure of South Orange and should restored to its former glory!
Please take the time to view this brief YouTube video (approximately 3 minutes) which outlines the history of Village Hall, highlights its architectural details, and raises questions and concerns regarding the proposed adaptive reuse.
Amy Dahn
