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Locals look to lease dilapidated Fort Hancock buildings

The private sector is buying into Fort Hancock

Brian Johnston, Asbury Park Press

The process of redeveloping Fort Hancock is taking so long, the roofs of historic buildings are caving in.

As outlined in Thursday’s meeting of the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee, that is both a real development and a metaphor for the accruing challenges as debate over what to do with Sandy Hook’s crumbling former Army base continues to drag out.

To review: Manhattan-based Stillman Development International proposes to lease and develop residential uses for “Officers Row,” a promenade of 21 stately buildings overlooking Sandy Hook Bay. This was where Fort Hancock’s officers lived before the installation closed in 1974.

Stillman would preserve their character and architecture while converting them into 93 apartments.

That plan has provoked considerable pushback from U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and environmental organizations. As a working group established by the advisory committee seeks grounds for a potential compromise, the deteriorating state of the roofs along Officers Row threatens to damage the buildings beyond repair.

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Jennifer Nersesian, superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area — which includes Sandy Hook — painted a dire picture of the situation.  

“As we started to look at the roofs, it became evident that we couldn’t even assess the roofs without doing some stabilization work first, because some of the buildings are so far gone,” she said during the committee meeting, which was virtual. “We finally have a contract in place. We had a team out earlier this month to begin the assessment of all the buildings. They were not able to get into all of the buildings, because some, it’s just not safe anymore.”

Neresian said the assessment report should be complete “within the next month or so” and then the most pressing measures will be addressed before the onset of winter.  

“Just for the initial assessment, stabilization, design phase, this is over a $2 million project,” Nersesian said.

That money “is coming mostly from leasing revenue from some of our other leases,” she said.

“This is good news that it’s moving forward and we finally have people on the ground,” she said. “The goal is to stabilize these buildings until a bigger project happens — get them shored up as best as we can and sealed up, so at least they don’t continue to deteriorate further until we have the fuller rehabilitation project going on.”

The rehabilitation project on the table, from Stillman, continues to idle in neutral.

Bleak testimony offered

Six Fort Hancock buildings currently are under lease for varying uses, including a general store/deli, a two-unit bed and breakfast and a two-unit rental. Five other buildings are in the “letter of intent” phase that is a precursor to leasing; plans are for them to become two multi-unit residences, two dining/event spaces and a bar/restaurant.

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Brian Samuelson, who holds a lease for the bed and breakfast, voiced concern about the pace of the Stillman project to the advisory committee.

“We want it to come in and save as many buildings as we can,” he said. “We welcome the developer, but now he has control over 21 buildings, he hasn’t done a thing the last two years, and now it’s maybe a year or two (before anything gets done), and now you’re five years down the road and these buildings continue to suffer.”

Tom Jones, who leased Building 104 as a residence and office, presented a bleak view of the rehabilitation process to the committee.

“Despite the best intentions on all ends, if I was asked by someone whether they should pursue this, I would have to say no,” Jones said. “It’s been a very difficult process.”

Jones called the complexities of Fort Hancock leasing and rehabilitation an “arcane, mysterious, dark process.” He said it took three months just to locate the sewer and water lines.

“The cost has spiraled out of control, more than double, close to triple what we thought it would be,” Jones said. “It’s taken far longer than we thought it should have.”

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Shawn Welch, a retired U.S. Army official who serves as co-chair of the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee, expressed regret that Jones’ situation went “horribly askew,” especially on a relatively small building.

“He’s telling us he’s ready to walk, and that’s not a good thing to hear,” Welch said.

Welch also delivered comments on behalf of Barney Sheridan, an entrepreneur who converted Building No. 53 into “McFly’s On The Hook,” a general store/deli/catering hall that opened this past spring.

“He’s very concerned about the amount of people he’s getting into his business,” Welch said of Sheridan. “His family and he have not yet made a decision as to whether he’s going to open up again next year. … He’s getting business, but not enough and he’s concerned about it. Can he make it actually function?”

He said Sheridan was in discussions with the park service about advertising.

“A lot of people don’t know he’s there, even now,” Welch said.

Pilot program next

The state of the Stillman project stands more or less where it did in April: There’s a “general agreement” to move forward on a two-building pilot program.

“Mr. Stillman has indicated an interest and a willingness to explore different models such as veterans housing or some affordable housing,” Nersesian said. “This requires a different business model than straight market-rate housing, but they are certainly interested in looking at that and open to it.”

Nersesian added: “As we look at physically, what can the buildings accommodate in terms of the number of units, what can the site sustain in terms of the level of activity and number of units, and what is the business model and who we’re bringing out here essentially, that will all be part of the discussion under this pilot to see if we have a feasible concept moving forward.”

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Asked to respond to Jones’ lamentations about the leasing and rehabilitation process, Nersesian said she understands where he’s coming from.  

“This process is hard,” she said. “This new kind of program we’re trying out, this public-private partnership, is a square peg in a round hole, but we are committed to trying to work through that.”

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at [email protected].

Source: Asbury Park

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