A developer hopes to build a two-story, 49,000-square-foot office complex at 83 South St. across from St. Rose of Lima School.
1836 structure on South St.
would give way to new building
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
The fate of the 19th-century John Wesley Bartleson house at 83 South St. rests with the Freehold Borough Planning Board.
On Sept. 24, representatives of a developer who wants to demolish the house presented plans for an office building that would replace the structure.
Attorney Salvatore Alfieri said property owner Steve Kontos wants to replace the 1836 home with a 49,000-square-foot two-story office building.
Testifying on behalf of the application were project engineer Gregory Ploussas, architect John Guadagnoli and traffic engineer Harvey Yesowitz. Kontos also testified.
The application as presented does not seek any variances or waivers. In fact, there was very little for board members to question with the exception of the size of the proposed building, which members deemed "too big," and the design of the structure, which Guadagnoli said he designed "in keeping with the town’s character."
Both his statement and design were challenged by board members with comments that referred to the architectural rendering as a "1920s factory, a baseball stadium and an old school building."
The office building is proposed for a 1.5-acre lot. It will provide 125 parking spaces (50 under the building and 75 in front, on the side and in the rear). The borough’s parking ordinance requires 123 parking spaces for this plan. The applicant intends to preserve the large mature trees along the front and sides of the property.
The first floor of the building would provide 6,716 square feet of office space; the second and third floors would each provide 21,000 square feet of space, according to the plans.
The Bartleson mansion is in a B-1 zone which allows commercial buildings. Many old homes and buildings have been converted into office space and have expanded by adding a wing onto the side of the building.
The traffic the proposed office building would generate was a concern of board members. The traffic impact study states that traffic "entering and exiting the site will continue to operate at a level of service ‘C’ during the morning peak hours between 7:15-7:45 a.m."
The intersections of South Street with Institute Street and Lincoln Place will still have drivers turning left from the side streets (onto South Street) continuing to experience some delays, according to Yesowitz.
The study looked at motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic near the St. Rose of Lima School and St. Rose of Lima Church which are across the street from the Bartleson home. Traffic studies were done in the summer months and after the school year had begun. The study revealed 50 to 55 pedestrian crossings per 30 minutes and 1,100 vehicles per hour, which Yesowitz said "would not be conducive for residential use, but would lend itself to office use."
Guadagnoli told board members, "The most important issue addressed in this design was the need to be sensitive to the town’s historical past and the understandable pride of its residents." Calling the design of the building "colonial," the architect said he purposefully broke up the building into little facades to depict a series of row houses.
"The architecture will reflect a new building in an old town," Guadagnoli said.
Board member June Vawter said the building had "too many windows" and said the design "looked remarkably like a factory or a school built 70 years ago."
She said, "I would rather see a building which will fit in with the history and character of the borough."
Board member Matthew Weismantel said he had seen federal, colonial and Victorian architecture in town, but "did not see any of these elements of design reflected in the rendering of the proposed office building."
"This proposed building does not blend in with the historical character of Freehold Borough," he said.
Borough Councilman Michael Toubin, who sits on the board, said the building looked "like the school I went to on Hudson Street." He said the design of the proposed building does not fit the neighborhood in which it will stand, but noted there is little the board can do to stop the developer.
"I think our hands are tied. I’d have to vote for it, but I believe we do have the right to influence how the building looks. Come back in two months," Toubin told the applicant, then added, "Maybe we can’t save [the Bartleson home], but maybe we can have a facade similar to its design."
Borough Councilman Kevin Coyne, who is the town’s historian, told board members the Bartleson mansion is "a very important and historically significant property."
"Before we start bulldozing the house, maybe we should look at the B-1 zone again. If it is your intention to allow this project, you may as well bulldoze everything from here to the First Baptist Church and turn it all into one big law office," Coyne said. "It’s going to be a huge structure with not enough parking available in a place where we don’t expect to see this."
Coyne said the Bartleson mansion is an asset to the town now. It most recently served as home to a business known as the Leadership Spa. Coyne expressed concern that a large modern building of the type being proposed would turn into an "empty white elephant and turn into a liability."
"When you start bulldozing all the historic houses in Freehold, who the hell wants to come here anymore? It’s no longer Freehold," the councilman said. "We [the town’s historic preservation advisory committee] feel that no one has seriously considered doing what is most important to this town."
Commercial real estate broker Judy Cohen told the board, "It will be impossible to keep 125 cars and expect no overflow."
Keith Bannach of Institute Street said the proposed office building "just does not fit in with the town’s master plan."
"This building is 50 percent lot coverage. All I’ll see is a huge monstrosity. It’s not consistent with the character of the town and will actually draw people away from it," Bannach said.
Crossing guard Rosemary Decher said the morning traffic between 7:15 and 8:25 a.m. is already bad on South Street. She expressed concern for the safety of children and elderly residents in the neighborhood should a large office building be constructed.
Jayne Carr, executive director of the Freehold Center Partnership, which supports business and activities in the borough’s downtown area, asked Kontos why he could not restore the Bartleson home and expand the building, as people have done with other buildings in town.
Kontos said the problems he dealt with when renovating the building that now houses the Main Street Bistro made him "not want to go thorough that again."
"It would have been more practical to have just demolished that whole thing," Kontos said.
Carr asked Kontos if he had given any thought to saving the Bartleson home.
"If we could do it, we would," he said.
"But it’s this town’s treasure," Carr said.
The application was continued to the board’s Oct. 22 meeting. The applicant was asked to present new designs more consistent with the town’s history and character.
In a later conversation with Coyne, the councilman said, "No one ever intended this ordinance to allow clear-cutting of properties down to asphalt with a bulldozer. If we watch this building come down, what’s next, the Parker House? Our [historic preservation advisory] committee has no actual power. All we have is the power of persuasion."