Items Tagged ‘New Jersey’
School Reuse Group Makes Case To Council
Synopsis:
The Save Valley Road Adaptive Reuse Committee (SVARC) hopes to reuse the 1918 Valley Road School in Princeton, New Jersey, with an eye to create Witherspoon Street as a cultural corridor. SVARC has presented its vision of turning the structure into a space for community groups and nonprofits at no taxpayer expense. While some of the building could open up immediately for rental usage, other areas require minor repairs prior to occupancy. The group hopes to replace the boiler as well as repair holes in the roof. There also will be no air conditioning of the first year. Given these issues, SVARC has already received tenative plans from a theatre group.
With $10,000 currently on hand, the group intends to raise the remainder of its funding privately to rehabilitate the building – total costs are projected to be $173,000. Tenants would be required to have an educational component in their mission and rent is proposed at $11 per square foot. This would create a total of $200,000 in rental fees and income.
The community space is only one option for the old school that the group is considering. They hope to gain public input to learn what the community would like to see happen to the building. Another option, which the Borough Council desires for the site, includes the demolition of the school to make way for an expansion of the nearby fire station and moving the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad into the new structure. The owners of the site, Princeton Regional Schools, will make the ultimate decision.
Belleville Ponders What To Do About Vacant Properties
Synopsis:
The township of Belleville, New Jersey, is trying to determine the future of three abandoned sites: School No. 1, the former Roche Molecular Systems site, and the former former Garden State Cancer Center site. Of the sites, only the school and the GSCC building still stand. Roche tore down the building at its former site back in October without any indication or explanation why. The township has the opportunity now to reuse the two vacated buildings and find new life for them. The Township will buy the school though it currently has no plans for future use of it. Essex County plans on foreclosing on the GSCC site, and Township Council members have met with the county to discuss future uses though none have been published yet.
Garden Street Lofts
Synopsis:
History
Located at 1425 Garden Street in Hoboken, this 1919 building once served as both a storage warehouse and coconut processing plant. The factory processed coconuts to be used as shredded toppings on Hostess snowball cupcakes.[1]
(Re)Developer
The developer of the conversion was Lawrence Bijou or Bijou Properties. The firm focuses its efforts on acquiring and transforming under-performing properties and converting them into first-class buildings. Along with this, green building practices are implemented.[2]
SHoP Architects was brought on to lead the conversion project. The Manhattan-based firm includes architectural and construction divisions. Their projects span the US as well as in China and South Korea.[3]
Outcome
Bijou and SHoP successfully finished the conversion project in 2009, resulting in 30 luxury condominiums and a sedum ground-covered, grassy roof for carbon monoxide emissions. The mixed residential high-rise is the first such building in New Jersey to also receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification which it was awarded in 2010.[4]
The construction process utilized environmentally-friendly strategies and materials to repurpose the old factory, so as to create a reduced carbon footprint for its tenants. With the reuse of the building being the ultimate green aspect, the building also includes: cleaner, filtered fresh air; low-VOC paints and finishes; high ceilings and large windows for more natural light and reduced heating/cooling needs; sedum-covered green roof; energy requirements purchased from wind and other alternative energy resources.[5]
The project is helping transform an area once known for its industry into a healthy environment for families looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact.[6]
Garden Street Lofts Wins Gold Award For Going Green
Synopsis:
The Garden Street Lofts in Hoboken, New Jersey, has a lot going for it. This major adaptive reuse project of an old storage warehouse and factory is now the first mixed-use residential high-rise in New Jersey. It also was just recently awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The developer, Larry Bijou of Bijou Properties, is looking at other adaptive reuse projects he’d like to initiate in the city including turning a three-story parking garage into a three-in-one mixed use residential, retail and education facility.
Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act
Synopsis:
New Jersey established an adaptive reuse law that: defines an abandoned property, sets the standards and requirements for an owner of an abandoned property to create and follow a redevelopment plan, creates the ability for the state to take possession of abandoned property and create and follow a redevelopment plan. While the law frames abandoned properties as “nuisances,” it also acknowledges that they have potential value for residential and other uses and should be preserved rather than demolished.