The undersigned, who are original members of the Grover Homestead Restoration Committee, have assembled a progress report on the Grover farmhouse that can be accessed at groverfarmrestoration.webs.com. The report is a downloadable pdf file from the documents page.
We have tried to make this report as complete as possible using all of the information and documentation available to us as of March 14. In it we recount the history of the farm and the damage that occurred to the house between 2009 and 2012 after Mrs. Grover terminated her life estate and moved out. At that time the house still in good condition, with parts of it dating at least to the 1840s and probably earlier.
We discuss the status of the house under Green Acres regulations, which apply because the farm is classified as “unfunded parkland.” “Unfunded” means that the farm was purchased without Green Acres funds, but Green Acres rules still apply to all open space in West Windsor because some of that land was purchased with Green Acres assistance.
These regulations have been carefully checked with Green Acres personnel. They have agreed that the rules would allow a restored house to be leased to a caretaker/tenant at below-market rates for a comparable dwelling. In return the tenant would bear responsibility for periodically patrolling the entire 88-acre property as well as other duties spelled out in the regulations. Such an arrangement is currently in force with other leased dwellings on property coming under Green Acres rules.
A business plan is included that shows that even if the restoration costs were bonded for as much as $400,000, which we consider the absolute worst-case scenario, rental income from the house should be sufficient to cover all these costs on a continuing basis and still return funds to the township. After 20 years these costs would have been paid off in full, and thereafter essentially all the rental income would be returned to the town.
But a favorable business outlook is not the only reason to restore the house. It represents an outstanding piece of West Windsor’s long and honorable farming history, a history that is featured on the township’s seal itself. Moreover, the house is highly visible from Village Road East. You cannot miss it. Its loss would be keenly felt by the neighbors, and in fact by all who drive along this scenic road.
As an immediate stopgap measure to prevent further damage to the house from the elements we are asking Council to apply $53,000 from the original unspent $60,000 appropriated to demolish the house and several other outbuildings back in September, 2010. These funds would be used to install new windows and doors and to patch the roof.
This would give us time to work out a complete restoration plan, which would hopefully include a community-wide effort with volunteered time and materials. It is only fitting that we all pull together in this effort and save the house for the present and the future to appreciate.
John A. Church
Ted Grover
James R. Solloway
Jonathan B. Word
