New development plan draws praise and criticism
It wasn't exactly "Duel in the Sun," but there was millionaire developer Jack Cust facing one of his most persistent critics, a slight octogenarian named Lois Stewart.
This was in front of a crowd of more than 450 people packed into the parish house at St. Magdalen Church in Flemington, where Cust was unveiling a new rendition of his development plan for the downtown and Stewart was there, again, to criticize it.
She waited until the line died down to make her move to the public podium, about 20 feet away stood Cust, well into an hour of answering questions about his plan, which calls for leveling several historic buildings, including the iconic Union Hotel.
Other commenters had to state their name and address at this special town council meeting Monday night, but as Stewart approached the microphone, Cust said, "Hello, Lois," much the same way Jerry Seinfeld used to greet his neighbor Newman.
He then folded his 6-foot-2 frame down behind the podium, as if to hide, which drew a laugh from the crowd.
Stewart opened by saying she hoped he was enjoying a historic preservation magazine she sent him through a gift subscription, then added "I hope you're learning from it."
The crowd laughed and clapped again. Lois Stewart is a fan favorite on the historic preservation side of this ongoing emotional debate about the future of Flemington's downtown.
When asked his height for this story, Cust said, "6-2 ... but after that meeting, I'm 5-4."
Not exactly.
Cust had as many supporters in the audience as there were opponents. The opponents were just more visible and vocal, wearing gray T-shirts with a picture of the Union Hotel and the words, "est. 1877." Or carrying signs that read "Stop Demolition, Save our History."
Since 2008, when the Union Hotel's restaurant was closed, the building has been the flag on the rope in a tug-of-war between people who want to preserve the town's history and those who want to push it into the future. The issue comes down to this: How much of the past has to be lost to ensure a prosperous tomorrow?
The crux of Cust's plan asserts that Flemington and, by extension, Hunterdon County, needs a downtown redevelopment of significant heft. The proposal calls for as many as 250 market-rate apartments, a new 100-room hotel, a ground-floor retail mall anchored by Flemington Furs, with room for several restaurants, 900 parking spaces and a separate building to house some type of higher education college or technical school. All of this will take up two-and-half square blocks of a roughly eight-block downtown.
In his presentation, Cust said the county is losing population and aging.
"We're not going to save the downtown by saving one building," he said Monday night before the public comment session. "Our history is important, but we need a future, too."
Cust has a deep investment in that. He employs 600 people at his baseball camp and health club complex on the outskirts of Flemington, which draws 500,000 visitors a year. Most, he says, are forced to stay in Somerset County hotels. Almost all complain "that there's nothing to do in Flemington."
In addition, he said, "We need to attract the millennials. Like it or not, walkable mixed-use development is the way the whole country is going."
And that statement is at the heart of the opposition's criticism. Flemington, they argue, doesn't want to be like the whole country. It wants to stay Flemington. At least in the downtown, a compact village of beautiful buildings of varied architecture.
The town center has always been anchored by the Greek Revival courthouse, where the Lindbergh baby trial was held in 1935, and The Union Hotel, with its French-style mansard roof, which accommodated the sequestered jury, the lawyers and celebrity reporters who covered the proceedings.
Main Street looks much like it did then. Most of the Victorian and Italianate mansions and commercial buildings were constructed before the 1880s and built to last.
The redevelopment plan incorporates a new hotel with touches of the old Union in the roofing and porch. It also takes some architectural hints from old Flemington - the upper reaches of the seven-story structure are set back, making the frontage not much taller than what exists today.
"We listened to what people said (after the first plan was unveiled in March)," Cust said, "and we tried to make some changes."
The one thing he didn't change was the mind of the opponents.
At the Monday night unveiling, the crowd was able to file past several large renditions of the project. To say it resembled a wake for the downtown as they know it is not an understatement. Except, at this viewing, not many were saying how good the body looked.
"This is horrible," said Stephanie Stevens, the Hunterdon County historian. "As a little child might say, it's 'worser' than before."
Chris Pickell, an architect whose office is in a restored Main Street Victorian, also didn't mince words.
"This is horrifically bad," he said. "This is appropriate for a place that has mass transit, like Harrison or Jersey City. It is blowing up the charm, the ambiance of the town."
"This (area) is on the National Registry (of Historic Places)," Stevens said. "I'm offended."
The word "monstrosity" was bandied about. So were accusations that some buildings that will come down have already been restored and modernized or, in the hotel's case, still structurally sound and can be easily used in the plan.
Cust maintains the old buildings will cut down on the project scope, which needs to be large to be economically viable and impactful.
When Stewart spoke, she said, "We don't need Manhattan moved into one block of my town."
And in that statement lies the essence of the issue. In the end, whose town will it be?
Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.