By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Duke Farms is seeking a permit to demolish the original turn-of the-20th century residence on the 2,300-acre estate in the northern part of the township, and concentrate its resources in refurbishing and opening up other parts of the 2,300-acre property.
The main house has been unoccupied since the death of Doris Duke in 1993 and has dilapidated. It is not accessible to the public. A narrative filed with the township says the building has serious asbestos and mold problems.
Because the house lies within one of the township’s historic districts, the demolition permit application will come before the Historic Preservation Commission at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30.
According to a state historic document filed with the application, James Buchannan Duke intended to have the mansion on top of a terraced hill once the property began to be developed starting in 1893. The house was planned to overlook one of 10 manmade lakes planned as part of a “romantic landscape.” The document says Mr. Duke abandoned the idea because his wife was not interested.
The state document said the house would be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as an example of a “romantic country estate by a millionaire of the Gilded Age.”
The Duke Farms Foundation is the owner of the property. The application says the foundation considered alternate uses but it was unable to identify a use appropriate to the group’s “new” mission as a model of stewardship and to encourage visitors to become informed stewards of the land.
The house contains 6,000 square feet of space on three floors, in a building that’s 600 feet long, said Michael Catania, executive director of the foundation.
The demolition application says the foundation determined it would be “prohibitively expensive” to make repairs to bring the building up to code for a public use. Mr. Catania said the restoration cost was put at $8 million to $10 million eight to 10 years ago; since then asbestos removal was found to be necessary, he added.
A statement said the foundation believed it would be more appropriate to use its resources to restore the Coach Barn, “which we believe is much more architecturally significant that the former main residence as well as much more useful in achieving our mission.”
Mr. Catania said there is a companion application to the historic commission to start work on the Coach Barn by seeking permission to replace the slate roof and cedar siding on the second floor. The goal is to make the building watertight, he said, and protect such treasures as wall murals of hunting scenes on four different continents.
The area around the residence is surrounded by landscaping, lakes, waterfalls and gardens currently inaccessible to the public. The foundation would like to make the area accessible to the public and provide access from Raritan Borough via the Nevius Street bridge. That wouldn’t be possible if the former main residence were to be subdivided from the remainder of the property and sold to a private individual who might be interested in restoring it, according to the application.
Mr. Catania said they’d like to open up the 50 acres or so around the house and allow public access to its gardens and waterfalls. He said the county is planning to build a bike lane and greenway on the north side of the Raritan River, and Duke Farms would like to build a spur from there onto the estate.
In May 2012, after a $45 million facelift, Duke Farms opened to the public. The property features the manmade lakes and waterfalls, barns, fountains, sculptures and a greenhouse for orchids and tropical plants. Since then more than a million people have visited.
The property hosts a community garden with more than 450 plots. “Incubator” farms are located on parts of the property. Manicured lawns are being turned into wildflower meadows.
There are 18 miles of hiking and biking trails. Buildings and facilities have been upgraded for maximum energy efficiency.
