The Grover Farmstead Committee will finally have its say at the upcoming West Windsor Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 2, at 7 p.m. After several delays, the Committee has completed its own report (below), and Council President George Borek has confirmed that it will be on the April 2 agenda.
The report, edited by John A. Church and co-edited by Jonathan B. Word, James R. Solloway, Ted Grover, makes the case for preserving the 19th century farm house and doing so at no extra expense to township taxpayers. The committee recommends that the town use the $60,000 already appropriated for demolishing the building to instead secure it. It then proposes fundraising efforts and the issuance of a bond to restore the house to a habitable condition, with the bond being paid for by rental income derived from the house.
Financial projections are shown for various scenarios, depending on the cost of the renovation work and whether or not the $60,000 demolition costs are “repurposed.” In the most extreme case, with rehab costs totaling $400,000, no repurposing of $60,000, the break-even rental would need to be $2,562 per month.
Concludes the report: “This project is likely to be a financial success even if financed solely by township bonds. Apart from this, it would be a major boost for West Windsor’s public image, showing we are interested not only in forging a great future, but also in preserving a wonderful past.” Below are excerpts:
The Grover Farmstead is an iconic landmark in West Windsor, imbued with fond memories by countless families. Besides welcoming separate family visits, the community-minded Grovers hosted thousands of school children from the West Windsor school district, as well surrounding districts, for both pumpkin and strawberry picking. Students from the Dutch Neck and Village Schools walked to the farm; students from surrounding districts, mainly Princeton, were bused. Upon their arrival, the Grovers would greet the children and teachers and give them a lesson on how the produce was grown. Sometimes the entire student population of Dutch Neck School would come at once. The Grovers charged $1 per child, and everyone thought it was a fine arrangement.
Today the Grover property is the last highly visible farmstead standing within the township. From the roadside, the residence provides a vista that is unmatched in its portrayal of West Windsor’s farming history, and the site was chosen to be the first property preserved with Open Space Tax Funds, in 1994. The restoration of the home would preserve nearly two centuries of West Windsor history.
This proposal is an outgrowth of the Grover Farmstead Restoration Committee, formed in mid-2012 with the encouragement of the town council following a decision not to immediately demolish the house and most of the outbuildings. This committee consists entirely of unpaid volunteers.
If the house is to be preserved, substantial damage that took place during the time when its future was still not fully determined must be repaired. In addition there has been some unrelated deterioration of the foundation, which is considered repairable.
Recommendations
We respectfully recommend that town council, with the support of the administration, introduce and pass a resolution to provide for the following:
— Repairing the house and restoring its function as a private, leased residence. The tenant would be a member of the public charged with routine upkeep and caretaking of not only the house, but also of those parts of the farm property that the public would normally have access to, such as paths and possibly a small section set aside for picking produce (strawberries, pumpkins and the like) as was done in the past. Such a use is permitted under Green Acres regulations.
— Making this project West Windsor’s contribution to celebrating New Jersey’s sesquarcentennial (i.e. 350th) anniversary and thus have a timeline of completion in September of 2014 to coincide with the anniversary of New Jersey’s Royal Charter in 1664.
— Initially financing this project through several means: (1.) Repurposing the $60,000 to enable new windows to be installed promptly, thus halting further deterioration as soon as possible. (2.) Encouraging the formation of a community-led group to actively engage in fundraising. (3.) Considering using funds specifically designated for the maintenance and development of Open Space properties.
— Completing financing by issuing new bonds for the additional amount required. The business plan shows that under any likely restoration expense, all township funds should be recoverable through renting the house. This will be possible largely because the property is tax-exempt, thereby allowing rental at rates considerably below local market. Rent would be such as to provide, in all probability, excess funds that can be returned to the development and maintenance of township Open Space as provided for in Green Acres regulations as cited in more detail later and confirmed by Green Acres personnel.
A comparison of the Grover House with the Schenck Farm restoration will naturally come to mind. We consider that these projects supplement each other rather than compete. The Schenck Farm restoration was financed entirely by taxpayers with little or no monetary return anticipated. It is in the nature of a museum, with associated operating costs to the town.
The Grover House project will preserve a highly visible landmark structure dating at least from the mid-1800s and which is projected to be entirely self-sustaining financially. A caretaker/tenant would be responsible for maintaining the existing publicly-accessible trails as well as the grounds surrounding the house. In addition, it is hoped that the previous and highly popular custom of allowing the public to pick their own produce in a separate area, with a minimal fee arrangement, could be reinstated.
History to 2009
The farmstead dates to at least the mid-1800s, possibly much earlier. The original part of the house is shown on an 1849 map of Mercer County. The owner was J. L. Hooper, whose family is mentioned in a well-known history of West Windsor. Another record suggests that the residence was enlarged by Sam Groendyke in 1876 9 with the addition of the front part to the original “ell.” The Grover family bought the farm in 1912.
In an effort to limit further development, the township created the first municipal open space tax in New Jersey to acquire this site. In 1994 West Windsor purchased the Grover Farm for an acquisition price not to exceed $3,441,000 and it became the first designated open space in West Windsor. The purchase agreement stipulated that the existing owners of the property, LeRoy and Florence Grover, retain a life estate in the farmstead, and as a result it was maintained as an active residence for the succeeding 15 years. Mr. Grover died in December, 2008.
On February 19, 2009, Mrs. Grover moved out of the farmhouse and executed a voluntary release of the life estate. This transferred control of the entire property to West Windsor Township.
The site remained largely undisturbed and the house was maintained in good condition while the Grovers held their life estate. After it was transferred to township control, the administration explored potential uses for the buildings. The concept of leasing the property was discussed with Town Council; however, the concept was tabled and the house remained vacant despite a warning from Township Land Use Manager Sam Surtees during that discussion: “To leave a residence vacant it starts deteriorating, as we are well aware with the Nierenberg House . . . You have an increased risk of vandalism, you need someone there to keep an eye on things . . . you know, if a leak occurs and if nobody is there to notice it, it gets worse.”
Bids for Demolition
In 2010 the Administration placed Line Item 2010-2(c) on the Capital Budget to demolish the vacant structures on the site. Some of the structures were said to already be “in bad shape and need to be demolished.”
Because of the press of other major matters during 2010 and 2011, further action on the proposed demolition was largely shelved after September, 2010. On April 5, 2012, a demolition proposal went to bid.
The winning bid was for the same $60,000 which had been originally put on the 2010 capital budget for “demolition of structures on township property.” This bid was submitted to Council as resolution 2012-R135 on May 14, 2012. This followed a recent pattern that the administration has repeated with demolishing township property that has been neglected to the point of disrepair, including the Nierenberg House, the Cubberly Barn, the Stillwell Farm, the Censoni House, and the Crawford House.
Following comments from the public and concerns expressed by several council members, it was decided to table the resolution and reassess what to do with the property. council members Linda Geevers and Kristina Samonte agreed to act as liaison to a committee of volunteers, which was formed soon thereafter to recommend what action should be taken regarding the house and the other structures.
Recommended Use:
Caretaker Home
We recommend that the Grover house, after all needed repairs, be leased to a resident caretaker under Green Acres regulations. This lease procedure has been conducted by other townships and would need to include the following or similar provisions, depending on the specific property:
The caretaker must maintain the premises in the condition that existed at the time it was initially leased, ordinary wear and tear excepted. In addition, s/he must devote 40 hours per month to the following activities:
— Patrolling the property once a week for safety, vandalism, and trash removal
— Landscape maintenance and gardening, including maintaining trail markers and fence painting/maintenance
— Snow removal; removal of fallen branches and debris, etc.
— Performing other handyman tasks, including but not limited to cleaning gutters
It is anticipated that in exchange for the preceding obligations, the house could be rented at rates below the prevailing local market for a similar residence and still return funds to the local Open Space maintenance budget.
