On Fiddlers Creek Road across the way from the Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain sits a centuries-old farmstead that has, for the first time in a long time, got people talking.
The sign on the drive reads HOLLYS ONE because it’s missing a T. This is Hollystone Manor, and while it wasn’t known by that name in his day, the site has history that involves Joseph Titus, the namesake of Titusville.
Where many a passerby sees a rambling stone mansion and ivy-choked stone barn in need of some serious TLC, Margot Stern sees something more. She sees a quiet destination for jaded urbanites, a place in the country where people from near and far can spend a few days, or even just a few hours, recharging their batteries and reconnecting with the land, whether by exploring it, eating the food grown on it, or just breathing in its air.
The Hopewell, Stern calls it, and if she can get the zoning variances she needs, she hopes to turn it into the kind of boutique destination that has become popular up in the Hudson Valley of New York. A countryside estate like Babington House or The Newt Somerset, in England, a wooded retreat like Inness in the Catskills or Twin Farms in Vermont.
Not only a place to stay while you visit someplace nice. But also a place that is itself a place to visit, a retreat, a getaway.
Stern knows that not everyone shares her vision. A website popped up in November encouraging people to sign a petition opposing commercial development of the property.
But Stern truly hopes that she can convince them, one and all, that what she imagines for the future of this deteriorating, historic old property will be not only good for the Hopewell Valley, and good for the site, but good for nature as well.
She isn’t looking to knock it all down to build a Courtyard By Marriott. She means it when she says she doesn’t want to create a wedding venue. She wants a cozy, quiet, dignified destination that, in her words, “incorporates the values of the region.”
In the end, though, she doesn’t have to convince every detractor. What she must do is get the members of the Hopewell Township Zoning Board of Adjustment to see what she sees. It won’t be unless and until they grant her the use variance she needs that she will be able to bring her vision to life.
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According to the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission, the oldest part of the main house — the dining and living rooms — were built around 1770 by the Titus family. Joseph Titus owned some 293 acres around the current farmstead when he died in 1797. Other sections of the house date back to 1819 and the 1840s, and several additions were made in the 20th century. The barn dates back to the 19th century as well.
The property sits in a Mountain Resource Conservation zone. That particular type of zoning allows only for residential development, so in order to proceed with her plans, Stern must get the proper variance from the zoning board to allow commercial development.
To add complexity to the matter, the property is encircled by preserved land: Fiddler’s Creek Preserve on one side, and the Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain on the other. In fact, even part of the 24 acres of land that Stern purchased in 2021 is conservationally protected by an easement granted to Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space by the previous owner.
To Stern, though, the surroundings seemed not like an impediment to her vision, but rather a strength. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business’ MBA program, she wrote her masters thesis on agro-tourism and eco-tourism.
A resident and a native of Philadelphia, she has lived in a number of places over the years, including Mexico, where she successfully launched a new hotel, Avenida Baja, in 2020 in spite the coronavirus pandemic. She has been conceptualizing and opening new hotels like this one for a decade now, so she knew that there could be opposition to her ideas, so she commissioned several impact studies, including traffic, soil, septic and water, so she have that information for the zoning application.
The zoning board’s December meeting was held via Zoom on Dec. 7, and at that meeting, Stern presented the board with her concept for The Hopewell: a 27-room boutique hotel with a clubhouse, spa, workout room, yoga and meditation space, and pool.
She shared her vision of a farm-to-table restaurant, open to the public, ideally with a bar if she can get the license. She says she wants to host cooking classes and guest chefs and highlight local ingredients and seasonal cuisine.
She has pledged not to add any new buildings to the site — and to renovate the buildings that are there, including the ice house and pump house. All of the proposed units would be situated in existing structures — the house, as well as three cottages that sit across the existing parking lot, and four apartments that are attached to the barn.
She says that she will also rebuild the septic system and the well, repair structural damage to the house, integrate renewable energy, remove and replace existing asphalt, replace invasive species with native plants, and improve stormwater management on the site. Parking spaces would increase from 27 to 95.
In her presentation, she cited case studies like The Newt, where guests are invited to forage the grounds for material that could be crafted into decorations or take calligraphy classes. She says that is the vibe she is going for — guided hikes, bird watching, beekeeping.
And she hopes to offer memberships to the clubhouse and spa, which she says is another way to share the renovated property with the community.
She described it to me this way: “I’m envisioning a true clubhouse, where the goal would be, someone has a few hours to kill, comes here, jumps on a Peloton or takes a yoga class or takes a steam, gets a shower, and then goes upstairs and is able to sit in the lounge, get a coffee and bang out some emails.
“What sometimes happens with these hotels is, a developer comes in, says this will be this incredible investment into this place, and then it’s totally closed to the community. What Soho House and some of these types of places have been doing engaging the community through a membership program,” she says.
The zoning meeting was well attended, in part because of the website hollystonemanor.com, started by Fiddlers Creek residents John and Carol Mastrosimone. They created the site to publicize their opposition to the proposed development, and set up a petition on the site where others could also register their objections.
Through the website, they encouraged people to attend the meeting. After her presentation, Stern answered questions from the board and community — so many that the 7 p.m. meeting extended to 10:30 p.m., when chair Eric Hatke ended it, tabling further consideration of the proposed hotel until January.
There never was time in the December meeting for Stern to present the findings from her impact studies. She feels like, if only people would read the reports for themselves, they would be convinced that her professed mission for the site is genuine.
“We weren’t able to make the actual evidence. The ecological and engineering evidence is really unequivocal,” Stern says. “The way that traffic is measured is assuming maximum occupancy of the restaurant and the inn. (In January) we are going to have witnesses who are going to be able to speak to the fact that the ecological impact is going to be negligible and in fact is going to be positive. When they hear the witnesses speak, I hope that will give some of the zoning board members more clarity, so they feel they have taken in the information.”
She says she had hoped that the zoning meeting would be an opportunity to clarify what she believes are misapprehensions about the proposal.
For example, many of the signers who have left comments have expressed that the buildings should be preserved, which is central to Stern’s plan.
“I’ve actually had a few petition signers tell me, ‘When I signed the petition, it sounded really horrible, but now that I know what it is, I want to support it,’” she says.
Some petitioners make it clear that they are opposed to further development of any kind in the township, and another frequent objection is that commercial redevelopment will put a burden on the local ecology.
But Stern stresses that she believes it is essential to her business plan that her project be in harmony with not only nature, but with the character of the community in which it will reside.
“I think this region is so special, and what I’m hearing from the community is ‘I would be so excited to have a sort of gem of a hospitality experience in this region.’ And now there’s an opportunity to showcase that in a way that to me feels grounded. And even the fact that we’re doing adaptive reuse instead of proposing new buildings is intrinsic to the values of the community. It actually feels representative of the types of individuals that are already in this community and a business model that fits in their values,” Stern says. “I feel like this is an asset, this is something to showcase and something to show what other communities can do with buildings that are abandoned and at risk of being torn down.”
Former mayor Michael Markulec, who lives nearby on Fiddlers Creek Road, is one resident who supports the proposal.
“When the township purchased the Hollystone farm for open space and carved out the area along Fiddlers Creek Road, everyone envisioned this type of use for the farmhouse and outbuildings. Similar projects like the Hopewell Valley Winery and Glenmoore Farms demonstrate how the community benefits from commercial development that is environmentally and historically integrated with our rich agricultural history,” he says.
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In 2010, the then-owner of the estate, a well-known local physician, contacted local conservation organizations, including Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and the D&R Greenway Land Trust, with the goal of ensuring that the property was preserved after his death.
FoHVOS, D&R Greenway, Hopewell Township, Mercer County, and the State of New Jersey worked together to preserve 108 acres at the outer edges of the property, which today are known as Fiddler’s Creek Preserve.
The landowner retained approximately 24 acres at the heart of the estate, granting FoHVOS a conservation easement on 13.42 of those acres. The remaining 10.4 acres are what Stern proposes to redevelop.
Linda Mead, president and CEO of D&R Greenway, negotiated the preservation with the landowner. “I remember clearly being in his living room with him in his hospital bed, and working with his wife. The residential area had a lot of small buildings in addition to the main house. They had been used as caretaker or family housing, or perhaps for guests. The proposed use appears to be consistent with the landowner’s intention, which was to allow that area to be reused while conserving the critical conservation areas on the property,” she says.
Lisa Wolff, the executive director of FoHVOS (and a frequent Hopewell Express contributor), says FoHVOS has taken no position regarding the Stern application pending before the township zoning board. “FoHVOS’ interest is limited to the easement it holds on the property, and it will enforce its legal interests to the extent allowable by law. To the extent it responds to the Sterns’ request for guidance on environmental impact and best stewardship practices, FoHVOS’ input is consistent with that which it provides to any township resident or landowner seeking such information,” she says.
Wolff says that FoHVOS is a recognized expert in land stewardship, and would welcome opportunities to promote community conservation initiatives that promote sustainability, native planting, and wildlife conservation.
“The easement connects to important Mercer County properties, and promoting passive recreation such as hiking and birding is in line with the FoHVOS objective to inspire the next generation of conservationists,” she says.
Guests walk up to The Hopewell, AKA Hollystone Manor, for a pop-up dinner party on Nov. 5, 2022. (Photo by Laura Pedrick.),
Margot Stern prepares the dining area for service at The Hopewell on Nov. 5, 2022 for a pop-up dinner with Chef Amanda Shulman of Her Place Supper Club. (Photo by Laura Pedrick.),
