The Brick Farm Market, Hopewell Borough, recently was honored with a 2014 New Good Neighbor Award from the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) and New Jersey Business magazine.
NJBIA Acting President Melanie Willoughby presented the award to Jon McConaughy, Brick Farm Market owner, at the 54th annual New Good Neighbor Awards luncheon held at the Pines Manor in Edison on June 6.
"The New Good Neighbor Awards are a celebration of the good things businesses do for the whole state, and thanks to the winners’ vision and determination, we have a lot to celebrate this year," Ms. Willoughby said. "The builders, developers and designers have invested their money, talent, and time to make these projects a reality and New Jersey is a better place because of it."
Presented jointly by the NJBIA and New Jersey Business magazine, the New Good Neighbor Awards annually recognize the best and most exciting renovations, expansions and new developments in the state. Winners are chosen based on economic benefit and job creation, architectural merit and community involvement.
The $3.2 million Brick Farm Market is located at 65 E. Broad St. It was once the home of Malek Chevrolet, a small, family owned-and-operated car dealer and a landmark in Hopewell’s landscape.
"The 1950s-era car dealership building has been both preserved and transformed. It’s now a state-of-the-art facility that looks as though it has always been there. The building’s adaptive reuse has perfectly married the old and the new, with its location complementing the community and its needs. Indeed the market, which opened in spring 2013, is truly ‘Hopewell,’" said an NJBIA spokesman.
Jon and Robin McConaughy’s Brick Farm Market farm-to-table mission, which includes the nearby Double Brook Farm and soon-to-open nearby Brick Market Tavern, is planned to be fully sustainable — farm-to-market-to-table and back-to-farm in the form of compost and feed.
"It is a model of organic and sustainable ingenuity from its solar, geothermal and high efficiency facility components to its locally grown or made-on-the-premises mantra. Market-goers are impressed with the offerings of the organic market, with its farm products and locally grown and made fresh baked goods, meats and cheeses," said the spokesman.
Now firmly embedded in the community as a stakeholder and employer, the Brick Farm Market was renovated by local tradesmen and professionals. It currently employs 20 full-time and five part-time workers. All materials for the project were purchased locally and, when feasible, were manufactured within a 15-mile radius.
The project was designed by Outerbridge/Morgan Architecture, LLC, of Skillman. The primary builder was Jade Construction of Ringoes. The project was nominated by Michele Hovan, Hopewell Borough administrator.
This year’s nominated projects comprised a total of almost $1 billion in development and created almost 10,000 jobs in the state. An independent panel of judges selected the winners.
