FLEMINGTON - Two preservation experts have met with members of the borough's Redevelopment Committee to push for alternatives to demolishing the Union Hotel as part of a redevelopment project.

One said the preservation and "adaptive reuse" of historic buildings at the South Street Seaport, Ellis Island and in Harrisburg, Pa., can guide alternatives to tearing down the hotel and surrounding buildings, according to a Friends of Historic Flemington news release.

The circa-1878 hotel, along with the Hunterdon County Historic Courthouse, are connected by the Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial, which drew worldwide attention in 1935.

The hotel was named one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Sites in the United States by the Trust in October 2016 and Preservation New Jersey also placed the Union Hotel at the top of its 2016 Most Endangered Historic Places list.

"The National Trust recognizes that town officials want to redevelop and reinvigorate downtown Flemington to encourage much needed economic growth," Seri Worde, a senior field officer with the Trust, said at the meeting. "Demolition of historic buildings is rarely a change for the better. Decades of experience in the wake of urban renewal have proven this repeatedly across the United States in small villages and towns as well as our largest cities. Historic Preservation can and should play a role."

Past vs. future at center of Flemington battle | Di Ionno

She was joined by Richard Southwick, a partner and director of historic preservation at the architecture and planning firm Beyer Blinder Bell in New York City. He is also a member of Preservation New Jersey, according to the news release. They were joined by borough architect Christopher Pickell, who had been involved in a previous redevelopment plan involving the hotel and surrounding property.

The redevelopment committee includes Mayor Phil Griener, Council Vice President Brooke Liebowitz and Councilman Brian Swingle.

The current plan calls for the demolition of the hotel and adjacent 19th century buildings and using the site to build a 100-room hotel, 250 housing units and a 900-car parking garage, along with restaurants, retails stores and a college. The Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce recently offered its support of the redevelopment plan.

In late December, the Borough Council voted to extend the current designation of Jack Cust, Jr. as redeveloper of the Union Hotel property. The project is currently in the design phase.

Mayor Griener said he remains committed to Cust's redevelopment plan.

"The upper three floors of that hotel haven't been used for about 50 years and the whole building has been closed and dark since 2008," Griener said in an interview Wednesday. "The hotel is in a site in the heart of Main Street that must be occupied.

"With no one stepping forward to redevelop it, that is why we are open to tearing it down," he added. The mayor pointed out that while no specific proposals have submitted to "restore" the hotel, "we have someone who is ready to rebuild that entire block. As long Celtabet as that stays on track, we plan to pursue it."

Griener said that if those redevelopment plans were to somehow fall through, "We would revert to a Request for Proposals to see who might be out there." 

Southwick said the borough "has everything it needs for successful adaptive redevelopment:"

• A set of available buildings in relatively good condition in a good location
• A town and its politicians supportive of redevelopment
• A developer committed to Flemington with the resources to invest in the town
• A population mobilized to support, indeed assist, in a careful historic preservation project

"The right solution for this town, at this time, and this specific location is so very obvious," he said.

Southwick presented three examples where historic buildings were incorporated into redevelopment, rather than demolished: the South Street Seaport in New York City, the state capital complex in Harrisburg, Pa., and at Ellis Island.

Restoration of existing buildings at the Seaport "was the catalyst for the success of the whole district, which is now a vibrant 24/7 mixed use neighborhood," according to the news release.

In Harrisburg, 19th and 20th century buildings were used in a redevelopment project similar to the one proposed in the borough. "The character of the development was retained by utilizing historic and the complex has become Harrisburg's town square, truly creating a distinctive sense of place," it was stated in the release.

Buildings on Ellis Island had been abandoned for half a century, with trees growing out of holes in the roof, plaster falling off the walls and water coming in from broken windows.

"This was all recoverable with the right skills and motivation," Southwick said. "The Union Hotel is in far better condition. It has only been vacant a few years.

"It is actually a very easy rehabilitation, with Historic Investment Tax Credits available for parts of the project."

In addition to the Trust and Preservation New Jersey designations, the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission named The Union Hotel, the Fulper Building at 78 Main St. and the Hunterdon County National Bank at 90-100 Main St. to its 2016 Most Endangered List.

According to Friends of Historic Flemington, a National Trust report titled "Older, Smaller, Better" shows "that established neighborhoods with a mix of older, smaller buildings perform better than districts with larger, newer structures when tested against a range of economic, social and environmental measures."

The Friends of Historic Flemington said the demolition of hotel and three adjacent buildings in the historic district is unnecessary, according to a news release, and are calling for the buildings to be preserved and use in a scaled-down redevelopment project.

Reporter Ben Horowitz contributed to this article.

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