For now, at least, the 19th century farm house at the West Windsor Township-owned Grover Farm will remain standing. On May 14 Council voted against demolishing the home in order to allow time for members of council to form their own opinion as to whether or not the home can be saved and possibly be rented out by the township. The house has been vacant since the last members of the Grover family moved out.
Mayor Hsueh said he went to the farm in April to examine its condition, and to consider if there was any way to preserve and use the facilities. However, Hsueh said, from the administration’s study of it the Grover house is not cost-effective to preserve.
“It’s not in good shape. For the township to pay the utilities, heating, and cooling of the home, it’s not really worthwhile. We also asked the West Windsor Historical Society to check into the property’s historical value and significance, but apparently it’s not a historic site. If it were I would have made the decision to preserve it, just like many other sites in West Windsor. This is not close to being a structure we need to preserve,” the mayor said.
The township took over the 90-acre farm in 1994 when it used designated money for open space preservation to make its first purchase (Mayor Hsueh was council president at the time). He says the Grovers are friends of his family.
“Mr. Grover passed away a few years ago. The family already moved out of there; his wife already moved into Village Grande, and Grover’s son lives on a property next door to the farm,” Hsueh said.
The property consists of two red barns for storage and a small “oak-design” house that was remodeled between 20 and 30 years ago. The barns may be usable for storage purposes, according to the mayor.
