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Colonial condos? Yes, indeed
Sunday Star-Ledger 07.09.2006
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Murray Hill Square salutes 30-year-old idea that went awry
BY GABRIEL H. GLUCK STAR-LEDGER STAFF
Tucked away in a quiet corner of New Providence is Murray Hill Square, a residential nirvana born from a huge commercial flop.
It was 30 years ago when Murray Hill Square opened for business. Designed by architect Alexander Bol, it was a Colonial-style village featuring upscale shops, offices, and a restaurant.
For myriad reasons, that venture failed. But the square would be reborn, its buildings subdivided and reconfigured into 56 condominiums.
Today the nearly 100 residents of Murray Hill Square will celebrate their village's 30th anniversary. Among the activities will be tours led by Bol, who will share some of the history behind the buildings he designed and the challenges of incorporating modern amenities into a historic design. (There's no water in the well houses: They were built to hide the electrical transformers.)
The public is welcome to wan- der the grounds from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. At 3 p.m. they can hear Colonial-era music, along with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Bol's tours begin at 4 p.m. A. $10 fee for those tours will benefit several local groups, including the borough library.
The first section of Murray Hill Square, just off South Street by the Murray Hill train station, opened in June 1976. Developed by Nat Conti, a builder from New Providence, the village included replicas of both local buildings and a number of structures from Colonial Williamsburg, Va.
One of the most unusual was the Octagon Building, an eight-sided, three-story building that
[See COLONIAL, Page 33]
Colonial Condos, (continued)
Square celebrates its second life
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Square celebrates its second life
would be home briefly to Eber's Furniture. When it came time to convert that building to condos, each of the three levels became separate units.
In the case of Heritage Hall, that Georgian Colonial was divided more like a townhouse, so each unit had multiple levels, Bol said.
Converting the commercial space into something livable presented a number of challenges, but it helped that there were few load-bearing walls, making it easier to design the new residential interiors.
As Bol was taking a visitor on a tour of the village on Friday, David Smythe was cleaning up around his home.
"You did a hell of a good job," Smythe told Bol.
Years ago, Smythe held his daughter's wedding reception in the courtyard in front of his home. The guests were quite surprised, commenting, "This looks like a small Williamsburg," he said.
Sally Fullman lives in one-half of the former Tarpley's Tavern. Her slate-floor living room, with its large fireplace, evokes the charm and coziness of the original design. "I'm so happy here," said Full- man, who moved from Madison seven years ago. "This is a village. You love when everyone comes out."
'GOOD JOB'
As a commercial venture, Mur- ray Hill Square failed within three years. There were a host of contributing factors. Not the least of them was that New Providence still had blue laws, which prevented shopping on Sundays, Bol said.
"Without Sunday sales, the stores were really hurting," he said. And it didn't help the restaurant that the borough was a dry town and the idea of BYOB hadn't taken hold at that point.
It was a project built before its time, Bol said. Given the resurgence of downtowns in recent years and the affluence of the area, he believes that if the project were started all over again, the outcome would be very different.
But the residents are just as happy things didn't work out.
Adele Russell was one of the first to move in, in 1983. She remembers how she was surrounded by contractors as they worked to convert the other buildings in the complex.
The contractors are long gone. Now the village's courtyards are filled with flowers and lush greenery.
"This is a very special place," Russell said.
Gabriel H. Gluck covers New Providence. He may be reached at (908) 302-1506 or ggluck@starledger.com
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