EDITORIAL
Last week we reported that the Westerly Road Church of Princeton Township wants to move to a partially-wooded parcel on Princeton Pike.
No problem there. Anyone in the zoning biz knows churches are a welcome addition to any town. Those in the know call them "inherently beneficial uses."
But, there lives an endangered species on this 13.3-acre property. And when the defenseless are threatened with obliteration, it doesn’t matter who wants to move there, some people get nervous.
The creature in question is the John Feaster Phillips House, built in 1720 and most famous for once being owned by Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The manor house is on the township register of historic properties and is eligible for the state and national Register of Historic Places.
In addition to the construction of a 42,600-square-foot free-standing building, the congregation wants to convert the 18th century house into office space and meeting rooms.
We get a little nervous when a historic house is to be used for commercial purposes. But, after some research, we feel the John Feaster Phillips House will be in good hands.
Sometimes, adaptive re-use using historic properties for modern purposes is the only way to save structures like the John Feaster Phillips House, said Township Historian Winona Nash Tuesday.
She said the house’s close proximity to the busy highway has discouraged anyone from using it as a residence.
She said the zoning board should approve the church’s plan, but require the congregation to maintain the building’s exterior as insurance.
Every house can’t be saved and turned into a museum for weekend tours. Some properties are just too valuable, which is true for this house. This also is true for the Gulick property on Route 206, said Mrs. Nash.
She worries about plan for the William Gulick House, where a developer’s plans to convert the structure into an assisted-living facility was thwarted. Since then, the house has been abandoned, has fallen into disrepair and eventually will be lost, she said.
This "demolition by neglect," another term for those in the biz, could befall the John Feaster Phillips House if the township or historic preservationists meet this plan with unreasonable expectations.
The plans call for leaving the exterior of the house alone and for some interior modifications. The church’s architect says the congregation has every intention of preserving and restoring the exterior of the house and wants to avoid gutting the inside.
Michael Farewell said his client will retain "good character spaces," such as a parlor that can be left alone to function as a meeting space, a hall that will stay untouched and some rooms upstairs that can be used as offices with little modification.
The downside is that some spaces in the wing, which was built in the 1920s, are not as "architecturally significant," said Mr. Farewell. It will take some work to bring those spaces up to code and up to the congregation’s standards for use.
That being said, we think the future owner of the John Feaster Phillips House will be a welcome and considerate caretaker.