New Jersey Mansion Threatened
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Sept. 29, 2009
The Blauvelt Mansion is "museum quality inside," says Oradell resident Maggie Harrer, former board member of Preservation New Jersey.
Credit: Courtesy Bonnie Wells
An 1896 mansion in northern New Jersey is for sale, and the borough of Oradell, N.J., hopes to buy it before a developer does.
Earlier this month, Oradell's borough council applied to the Bergen County Historic Preservation Trust fund for a $2.29 million matching grant to purchase the 25-room Blauvelt Mansion.
"We want to do whatever we can to preserve that piece of property," Mayor Dianne Camelo Didio told the Bergen Record.
The 14,000-square-foot Stick-Style mansion, with grand staircases and seven marble fireplaces, was built for Kimbell C. Atwood. In 1926, Hiram Blauvelt, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt, bought the estate.
By 1978 the 4.5-acre estate was threatened by development, and the Wells family bought it in order to protect the mansion. Today Jeffery Wells, his wife, Bonnie, and their daughter live there, using part of it as architectural offices, but say it costs $100,000 a year to maintain. The house has been on and off the market for two years, Bonnie Wells says. It's currently listed at $3.73 million.
"This month is kind of a pivotal month," Bonnie Wells says, adding that it's not affordable to use the house as a private residence. "In this economy, the only people who are interested in the property are going to put apartments on it."
Wells hoped to turn the mansion into a banquet hall—and has hosted weddings and other events in the house—but neighbors objected. Two years ago Wells agreed to allow Care One LLC to build senior housing near the mansion, but Oradell's zoning board blocked the plan, saying it was too dense for the site. Care One has since filed a lawsuit against the town, which is still pursing the purchase of the Blauvelt Mansion.
"Oradell is a town that's waking up to its history," says Maggie Harrer, board president emeritus of the Water Works Conservancy, Inc., a local historic preservation group. She says Oradell is trying to establish its first historic district, which would include the Blauvelt Mansion. "People are very concerned [about the threat to the mansion]. The town feels like it's one of the most important landmarks. It's very much an icon for Oradell."
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Comments
Submitted by FORMER RESIDENT at: May 2, 2010
DONT LET THE DEVELOPERS TAKE THE PROPERTY. I WALKED PAST THE MANSION ON MY WAY TO THE TRAIN STATION FROM BLAULT DRIVE.
Submitted by Jenofglen at: March 15, 2010
So my question is....is Burris still interested in this property if the grants cant purchase it? Who would know what happened to the Burris interest of the alheimers nursing home facility? Haddonfield, NJ is presently dealing with Mr. Burris under Health Care Resources. Please see preservationhaddonfield.org for mor information on Boxwood Hall.
Submitted by Lynda Katye at: October 8, 2009
My family was from Oradell, in fact my grandparents owned the only remaining house on Kinderkamack Road between Oradell and Ridgewood Ave up to the mid-70s (it's still stands). I can remember the original Oradell Library, the original Oradell Pharmacy (which was where the Continental Hair Salon now stands), when the A&P used to be right next door to that. Before the beauty parlor, it was a soda fountain, called the Fountain Blue. My point is, all that is gone, as well as the old Grand Union (which is where Rite-Aid is today) and even Hagler's. Now the Blauvelt Mansion?? This cannot happen. I only hope and pray that the town is successful in buying the estate and maintaining one of the town's last historical landmark. Good Luck!!
Submitted by repolton at: September 30, 2009
For information on the architect of this magnificent home, go to www.fredwesleywentworth.com