Maplewood’s Historic Preservation Plan for restoring The Woodland over the next several years outlines numerous priorities including repairing and shoring up a sagging auditorium roof, replacing the aluminum siding with wood and installing a new slate roof (in phases) as well as installing an HVAC system, which along with more than a dozen other recommendations will ultimately cost nearly $4 million.
The plan itself was 100% grant-funded and was presented to the Maplewood Township Committee in September by architect and historic preservation specialist Margaret M. Hickey, who recommended that work be done in four phases and that the township apply for matching grants from the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.
The plan gives the Township Committee “a good comprehensive idea of the conditions of the building, and what the needs are,” said Hickey, whose firm Connolly & Hickey Historical Architects prepared the plan. “This plan is a critical first step towards obtaining those [historic preservation] grants. The more you know up front of what you’re doing, the more competitive you are. You’re competing against 21 other counties.”
When it comes to preservation, she said, there is a move toward funding more than museums, and the applications with broader community use are seen as more competitive.
“They’re looking for engagement. So you fit right into that category,” said Hickey. “But even though you’re not going to be a museum, the funding agency, the New Jersey Preservation Office, they want you to be sensitive to the historic fabric of the building.”
According to Hickey’s slide presentation, construction on the building began in 1929 and it opened as the clubhouse for The Woman’s Club in 1930. Through the years, changes were made such the painting over of the auditorium transom windows for black-out purposes during World War II and the installation of aluminum siding in 1980.
Watch the presentation below, starting at 28:02.
Hickey said the Township has made “some major investments” in The Woodland, particularly in “the life-safety aspect of things” and in maintaining the interior but there is still a lot that needs to be done.
One of the main concerns, she said, is the roof that is sagging under the weight of the slate because it’s girded by a “scissor truss” that needs to be enhanced and shored up and that would be among the work that would be done first.
Hickey outlined the phases and the costs of each phase of the multi-year project this way:
- Phase I: Focus on Exterior and structural upgrades at auditorium; Cost: $1,082,410. This includes structural upgrades, restoration of wood doors/sidelights, removal of aluminum siding and trim, restoration of wood siding and trim, reinforcement of the stair landing
- Phase II: Auditorium and stage; Cost: $1,162,490. Upgrade finishes including stage, improve lighting, add sound equipment, etc., install new HVAC system in auditorium, upgrade electric for new HVAC, improve sound transmission to upstairs space, repair/upgrade exterior portico, repair windows and doors at stage and improve conditions at basement windows and window wells
- Phase III: Primarily Exterior at Main Building; Cost: $705,230. Removal of aluminum and restore underlying siding and trim etc, replace slate and update roof draining systems, restore almost all windows, repair retaining walls. (2-5 years down the road)
- Phase IV: Second and Third Floor Rehabilitation; Cost: $834,920. Upgrade finishes particularly on the second and third floors, improve lighting and technology, install new HVAC system
The total projected costs for those repairs and upgrades is $3.7 million, she said, adding that this year’s maximum grant amount from the state for such projects was $750,000 and grants are matching-fund grants, so the Township has to take on the work to get the grants.
Margaret Hickey presents the preservation plan for The Woodland to the Maplewood Township Committee.
Maplewood Business Administrator Patrick Wherry said in an email to The Village Green that the Township “will evaluate the recommendations and identify the projects to submit for grant funding. Grants typically have maximum application/funding amounts, so we will likely apply to multiple grants over multiple years.”
