Haven't seen this discussed in awhile...

...maybe I just missed it. Any word on what is going on with the Marylawn property? Has anyone purchased it? Any plans for it? Just curious.

I thought this was going to be about The Gaslight

Well, we haven't discussed that in awhile either! LOL! Maybe I should change the topic to 'Old Crap We Have Apparently Forgotten About and Haven't Beaten to Death in Awhile!' LMAO!

I really was interested in what happened with Marylawn though because no one seemed to want it. A couple of developers said thanks but no thanks if I remember right, then Seton Hall finally took a shot at it but the dog and pony show with the town became a nightmare and now it is apparently sitting there just becoming an eyesore. Seems rodents had become a huge issue when Seton Hall was looking at it and the nuns from Marylawn really weren't doing much to keep the property up aside from the bare minimum. With the initial neglect from the nuns I wonder if the rodent issue has gotten any better. There was also the issue with the historical building on the property that the everyone not involved with the purchase wanted to save but no one had the means or initiative to do so. Not a good situation.

irvingtonpirate said:
but the dog and pony show with the town became a nightmare.

I thought that the problem was that Seton Hall concluded that renovating/restoring the mansion was cost prohibitive.

Steve said:

irvingtonpirate said:
but the dog and pony show with the town became a nightmare.

I thought that the problem was that Seton Hall concluded that renovating/restoring the mansion was cost prohibitive.

The cost certainly wasn't cheap but Seton Hall was still willing to do it. The town kept piling on restrictions and making demands of the university to the point where they just said screw it because it wasn't worth all of the headaches.

Just my opinion but, I think that the cost of renovating and/or restoring the mansion is going to be a huge hurdle and a deal-breaker for most.

Steve, irvingtonpirate has a distinct personal perspective on anyone who gives Seton Hall any sort of pushback...

The neighbors want the smallest possible development, the sellers and potential developers wanted a higher value development, so housing fell through, at least for now.

Seton Hall wanted too many students for too little parking, with a promise to provide shuttle buses (but no way to ensure that students use them rather than more convenient street parking). They discovered that the restoration would be a much larger job than expected. But they also decided to build a whole medical school up in Nutley, so I'm guessing they would have abandoned this Allied Health project before signing a deal even if things had been going more smoothly.

The last rumor I heard, in an education thread, is that a neighboring school district may be considering buying/leasing the school to set up a Gifted and Talented academy. That would be ironic, given our own district's opposition to such a thing for our own students. But it would also be a reuse plan that the neighbors might actually approve of. Don't know if it is still under consideration or not.

Not sure anyone has deep enough pockets to want to take on the mansion at this point.

Thanks @Susan1014. Your recollection is pretty consistent with mine. Downside of another community using it as a school is that it would be taken back off of the tax roll.

susan1014 said:
Steve, irvingtonpirate has a distinct personal perspective on anyone who gives Seton Hall any sort of pushback...

And anything that benefits Seton Hall in any way susan1014 is vehemently opposed to. Not sure what this 'Allied Health' thing is that susan mentions but it is painfully obvious she knows little to nothing about the university anyway.

Seton Hall was looking to relocate their School of Health and Medical Sciences (SHMS) to the Marylawn property. This is very different from the Medical School. There were never any plans to locate a full fledged medical school to a building that used to house a small high school. Relocating SHMS would have been different because the building they currently occupy was about the same size. A full fledged medical school has much different needs and demands that never would have been satisfied by the Marylawn property. In the end it all worked out for the best for Seton Hall because now SHMS will move to the Med School campus. From an article I saw the other day, it sounds like some, if not all, of the programs in the School of Nursing will also be moving to the Med School campus.

As far as the Marylawn property, the mansion, it's disrepair and the funding needed to save it are going to be a huge hurdle for anyone looking to take on the property. A few developers opted out already because of it. It will be interesting to learn what school district is looking at this property and has that kind of money to invest in that sort of restoration. I would think it would be easier to find another property with a lot less problems that would allow them to invest the savings into their students instead of someone other town's long ignored problem. As a taxpayer of that town I would be pissed that the money wasn't being used to educate my kids instead.

I do remember that after the Seton Hall deal fell through there was talk of adding the property back onto the tax rolls because it was no longer being used as a school and therefore was no longer tax exempt. Did that ever happen? If so, are the nuns currently paying the taxes? If another school district takes it over wouldn't it then revert back to tax-exempt status (something that had the panties of a few residents in a wad to begin with)?

Bottom line, the longer that property stays vacant the harder it will be to unload it. How many years has it been already? Things would be much easier if they would just let whoever wants this property to just bulldoze that mansion.

I never said that seton hall wanted to build a medical school at Marylawn. Of course not. I was saying that the medical school plan would probably have ended the Marylawn plan no matter how it was going. I think it is a super plan, and congratulate both Seton Hall and Nutley.

I'm assuming that any town looking for a school building would only want the school building, not the mansion.

If I were betting, I'd bet on a multi year lease for the school only, as the status of the mansion and/or the whole property continues to be debated and as the mansion continues to decay.

(Pirate...I only want seton hall to be a good neighbor, whatever you might think

Just found this online from the May 28 Planning & Zoning Committee Minutes:

The Village Administrator confirmed that Orange Board of Education has entered into contract to purchase the entire Marylawn property, as per his meeting with orange BOE officials. A Stem Program/ day school at the high school level which is within permitted use is intended. A re-use of the Mansion as offices is possible. Tax exemptions were discussed. A PILOT agreement will be discussed at the next meeting between Orange BOE and Village Administration. Transportation is to be determined. A Fall 2015 opening is projected.

http://southorange.no-ip.org/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=138017&dbid=0

michaelgoldberg said:
Just found this online from the May 28 Planning & Zoning Committee Minutes:
The Village Administrator confirmed that Orange Board of Education has entered into contract to purchase the entire Marylawn property, as per his meeting with orange BOE officials. A Stem Program/ day school at the high school level which is within permitted use is intended. A re-use of the Mansion as offices is possible. Tax exemptions were discussed. A PILOT agreement will be discussed at the next meeting between Orange BOE and Village Administration. Transportation is to be determined. A Fall 2015 opening is projected.

http://southorange.no-ip.org/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=138017&dbid=0

Did someone's calendar accidentally get set to April 1?

Here we go with the PILOT's again. Just rezone the property to permit 55+ housing, and you'll see how fast it gets gobbled up. No burden on the schools. Walkable to the downtown. Fills a void in the market. End of story. The mansion may have to go, but its going anyway.

Alternatively, let Cramer et al buy this parcel and put in his boutique hotel. Mansion for some rooms, school for others.

The property will be (or is) owned by the Orange BOE and will be used for educational purposes. It's exempt from property taxes under NJ law. An exemption is different than an abatement. I assume that the PILOT discussed here is a strictly voluntary PILOT of the type that is paid by other tax exempt institutions on property that they own in South Orange.

I don't think that the Village will have much reason or opportunity to weigh in on this sale, since the sale keeps the property within current zoning and usage.

I'm not sure if this is the best use from the South Orange Village community-building perspective, but it is a conforming use, fairly similar to the previous use, which may be best for the immediate neighborhood. I've never heard of a public school outside of city boundaries before, but I doubt there is any rule against it. Sounds like Orange wants to get this STEM high school up and running quickly...power to them.

I'll be interested in seeing whether the Orange BOE has any interest in renovating the historic mansion, or whether we will eventually be having a debate if other plans eventually emerge for that part of the property.

I'll admit that I was a bit surprised by the actual sale...I was expecting a medium-to-long-term lease for a temporary use by the Orange BOE, much as was done for a few years at the South Mountain Annex, when the local school population was lower. An actual sale suggests that they either see this as a long-term location, or are willing to take on the challenge eventual resale or redevelopment if they eventually move this school back within city limits.

Hard to believe that the city of Orange would purchase the property with deed restrictions still in force. Wonder what kind of due diligence they did on the school building - roof, asbestos, etc, etc.. As far as the "mansion" $6-7 Million to rehab? Sadly, it has been neglected for too long, and it's interior was stripped of anything remotely charming years ago, it's a tear down.