Cape May Park, Five Historic Projects Pass after Open Space Hearing

CREST HAVEN – A hearing was held Dec. 22 by freeholders for Cape May’s Lafayette Street Park and five historic preservation projects, all likely to be funded by the county Open Space fund. No decision was permitted at the meeting.
Planning Director Leslie Gimeno made presentations to the board as part of the freeholder meeting.
Mayor Edward Mahaney attended a copy of the planned park in hand. No objections were raised.
Freeholders will make final decisions on all six projects in 45 days, or at the Feb. 9 meeting.
Lafayette Street Park
The 38-acre parcel is adjacent to the city elementary school on Lafayette Street. It has been six years in the planning stage, and will include active and passive recreation.
To be completed in four phases, the first segment is a $1.5-million plan, funded by state Economic Development Authority. That includes a multi-purpose field and playground.
Mahaney said that phase had gone to bid Dec. 18.
Phase 2, $500,000 renovation of the Dellas Field for softball and baseball will be funded by a state Green Acres loan.
Phase 3, is the portion the county will fund via an Open Space grant for $1.176,000 discussed at the meeting. It will include basketball courts, bocce and shuffleboard courts, and a dog park, open space with lighting, irrigation, parking, restroom and landscaping.
The final phase will include trails and environmental education.
Historic Preservation
Naval Air Station Wildwood
Naval Air Station Wildwood, built in 1942 and listed on both state and nation Registers of Historic Places, and which draws an estimated 30,000 visitors annually, sought $50,000 of a $100,000 project to rehabilitate 750 window panes. There are 4,000 in Hangar 1, according to Dr. Joseph Salvatore, executive director, who attended. Windows will be reglazed, primed and painted.
Another 500 will be touched up. There will also be rehabilitation of siding on the west side lower hangar doors and stabilize the exterior of the northwest tower.
NASW will pay $50,000 of its own funds to complete the work.
Cape May Lighthouse
Exterior preservation of Cape May Lighthouse, built in 1859, is planned. It is operated by Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities, Inc. which leases it from the state park service.
Dr. Michael Zuckerman, MAC director, attended the hearing. No question was raised about the planned work.
Listed on state and national Registers of Historic Places, the attraction hosted 87,000 visitors in 2014, and has been visited by 2.5 million since its original restoration in 1988.
MAC sought $50,000 from the county toward the $100,000 project.
It proposes to remove paint, repoint mortar, restore wood and glaze windows as well as repaint the exterior.
Historic Cold Spring Village
Four buildings in the 19th Century restored village between Route 9 and Seashore Road will be preserved and stabilized in the $31,500 project. Historic Cold Spring Village Foundation will pay $15,750 toward the repair with Open Space funds paying $15,750.
The work will encompass the Woodbine Junction Interlocking Control Tower (1894) including carpentry repairs, stairs structural work, exterior repainting and stripping and repainting the roof.
At the Spicer Leaming House (1817), molded trim on exterior windows and doors will be done.
The Octagonal Poultry House (1900) will have window sills, corner boards and interior floor restored and the structure and roof will be repainted.
Anne Salvatore, executive director of the village attended. No questions were asked about the project.
Rio Grande Station (1894) will have siding redone, carpentry repairs, corner boards and its roof stripped and coated.
City Hall – Ocean City
A $400,000 stabilization project will be undertaken on the 1914 structure that is listed on state and national Registers of Historic Places.
The city will pay $200,000 and the Open Space fund will pay a similar amount.
Work will include cleaning and repointing brick, stone and terra cotta. New Jersey Historic Trust funded restoration improvements for window and door replacement.
A local engineer advocated on behalf of the project, “to maintain its historical significance.”
Joseph Falkinburge House
ARC of Cape May County, Inc.
The administrative headquarters of ARC of Cape May County on Route 47, South Dennis, was built in 1806, and is listed on both state and national Registers of Historic Places.
A $400,000 project is planned with the Open Space fund and ARC paying $200,000 each to rehabilitate and preserve the exterior of the red brick structure.
Included will be window and door restoration, exterior cornice and siding restoration and exterior brick masonry restoration.
The project had eight supporters who told the board of the building’s worth to the community. The organization “promotes and protects the human rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes,” according to its website.
Sarah Matthews, interim director of operations, told the board for 20 years the agency has put much effort and energy into the building.
Joan Berkey, one of the advocates, said the Falkinburge house is “One of the best preserved Federal-style houses in Cape May County.”
Gimeno told the board reimbursements to all fund recipients are made in a lump sum when the project is completed and inspected.