South Orange will hold two special public meetings next week to discuss the future of two important township buildings: Village Hall and the former Jersey Animal Coalition.
Both issues were discussed at Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting. Read our coverage of the JAC here.
Regarding Village Hall, Village President Sheena Collum said it was “crunch time” for officials to make a decision on whether to accept one of the two bids for adaptive reuse — one for a boutique hotel and another for a restaurant — or to proceed with renovating the historic structure.
Here is more information from the Village on both meetings:
Forum on The Future of Village Hall: Monday, June 15, 8 p.m., SOPAC Main Stage
In 2014, the BOT 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 required that the building must be preserved to historic standards.
Bids for the renovation costs have been received along with two offers for adaptive reuse of the building — a boutique hotel a restaurant group that restores historic buildings. This is a special meeting called by the Board of Trustees for the purposes of sharing details of the two proposed uses and soliciting feedback from various stakeholders as a part of a community conversation to assist the Board in making this important decision.
Community Forum on the former Jersey Animal Coalition: Wednesday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. at The Baird Center
The South Orange Board of Trustees would like to invite interested residents to a Community Forum to discuss 298 Walton Avenue (the former location of the Jersey Animal Coalition (JAC). The Board of Trustees is investigating usage options for the building and would like to solicit input from our residents on the future use this municipal facility. Since the closure of the JAC, the Village has heard from numerous residents regarding how they believe we should use the building. The intention of this Community Forum is to facilitate a full public discussion of the various ideas and the impact of various possible uses on the community.
