Howe Commons expansion project is moving along

George Ackerman: "It’s going to look terrific. I expect the exterior will be finished around Labor Day."

By Ruth Luse
   On July 6, 2006, there was a groundbreaking ceremony at Howe Commons in Pennington Borough.
   The event feted plans for the expansion, now under way, of the professional center at 65 S. Main St.,
   Howe Commons, named after William P. Howe, has been a four-building, 4-acre office and professional complex with 27,000 square feet of space in the heart of downtown Pennington Borough.
   Now, a little over a year later, the "shell" of a fifth building is visible. The roof and windows are on and the siding and brickwork is slated to begin shortly, according to George Ackerman of Benbrooke Realty Investment Company, which owns Howe Commons.
   "It’s going to look terrific. I expect the exterior will be finished around Labor Day," said Mr. Ackerman.
   "The new building is another office building at 65 S. Main. This was formerly Dr. William Abey’s residence and it’s now known as ‘The William P. Howe Commons.’ Presently there are four buildings in the Commons and this is the fifth building. About four years ago I bought the rather run-down house at 59 S. Main. We demolished that building, relocated our parking lot and access road, and are building a fifth building in the complex," Mr. Ackerman added.
   The expansion, approved by the borough Planning Board in 2005, includes the new, two-story building with 6,500 square feet of leasable floor space at 59 S. Main St. The driveway to the Commons will be moved about 30 feet north as part of the expansion project.
   "The new building is slightly larger in mass than the building on the opposite side of the courtyard and, therefore, we are also building an addition of approximately 1,350 onto that building to restore symmetry to the courtyard," Mr. Ackerman said after the groundbreaking last year.
   The centerpiece building was Dr. Abey’s home and office during the many years he practiced medicine in Pennington during the mid-20th century. This building also was Mr. Howe’s first residence in Pennington.
   "It’s a really neat project, because the new building is on the left side of the ‘lawn’ so now there are three buildings forming somewhat of a ‘town square.’ The new building is the one on the left and it is presently under construction. It will be another office building, just like the other four buildings," said Mr. Ackerman.
   THE 2006 GROUNDBREAKING ceremony included the dedication of the original building to the memory of Dr. Abey. Building A, which is Dr. Abey’s former home, will be known as the Abey Building.
   Mr. Howe, a Southerner by birth, arrived in Pennington Borough in 1910. He served as mayor, as president of the local school board and was the founder of Howe Nurseries, which closed in the 1970s after being the borough’s principal business and employer for decades. The business occupied land now covered by many borough streets in the southern part of town.
   Mr. Howe also donated the land on which Toll Gate Grammar School and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church were erected on South Main Street during the early 20th century.
   The center building of Howe Commons was Mr. Howe’s first home in the borough. When he moved into it, the structure was already about 100 years old. Originally, it was a Federal-style brick farmhouse on 23 acres. Its 19th century owners included Dr. Henry Wickham Blatchley, James B. and Mary Ann McNair, George Ketchem and Charles and Margaret Fish.
   Mr. Howe expanded and renovated the building, turning it into a Georgian Revival-style home with a two-story portico. Subsequent owners removed the porticos from the building, which in 1942 was bought by Dr. Abey, who lived and practiced medicine in the building for many years. In 1968, he sold it and property to the east to real estate developers Hunt and Augustine. Construction of homes on a new street — Abey Drive — and several cul-de-sacs running off it followed.
   Pennington residents once referred to that area as "The Abey Tract." Dr. Abey’s former residence was converted into an office building and two more buildings were constructed flanking it.
   
Staff Writer John Tredrea contributed to this account.