Developer Proposes Plan for Historic Houses at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook

By Raven Rentas

MIDDLETOWN – The National Park Service has accepted a proposal from Stillman Development International to restore 21 houses on Fort Hancock, a former military base at the tip of Sandy Hook.

Jennifer T. Nersesian, superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area – which includes Fort Hancock – announced the news at The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee’s meeting Friday, Feb. 28 at Thompson Park Visitor Center.

Nersesian said Stillman Development International, a real estate development firm based in New York City, proposed to rehabilitate 107,252 square feet of buildings overlooking Sandy Hook Bay. Since the fort’s closure, the historic houses have remained mostly uninhabited.

Nersesian said there are only three buildings that are currently being leased and eight letters of intent. The committee, which officially formed in 2012, has been working with the NPS to re- vitalize Fort Hancock while preserving its past. They have been trying to lease the isolated buildings in an effort to bring life back into the community. Gerry Glaser, co- chair of the committee, said he has high hopes for this project.

“This is the biggest thing to happen to this committee since it started,” Glaser said.

Nersesian said Roy Stillman, the project’s developer and president of Stillman Development International, would essentially preserve all remaining buildings that are available. This excludes those that are currently being leased and those under any agreement or letters of intent. The proposal from Stillman includes use of all the remaining houses on Officers Row, except for buildings like the History House and those currently in use. A few of the buildings that are part of the proposal are not on Officers Row.

Nersesian said that under the proposal, vacant buildings on Officers Row are expected to be used for long-term residential use and there should be approximately 93 renovated apartments once the project is complete. The houses are expected to have three floors with a total of five units. The first and second floors will have two apartments each, while the third floor will have one. Nersesian said there will be some form of shared storage.

In addition to apartments, Stillman said they plan to rehabilitate some of the buildings that are not on Officers Row for commercial use.

They are thinking of using one of the buildings as additional support for the wedding chapel, as well as opening a sundries store with a liquor license.

Stillman said he believes there has to be a certain balance between residential and commercial use in order for it to be a success. He said he hopes there will be year-round occupancy.

“We don’t want someone to come home and get asked, ‘Did you get the milk?’ and then they respond, ‘Oh no, I forgot. I’ll be back in 30 minutes,’ ” Stillman said. “An important sense of community includes conveniences like food and supplies.”

According to Nersesian, the proposal has been deemed fully responsive to request for proposals and approved to move forward. The next step in this process it to negotiate a letter of intent so that all parties have a written understanding of each other’s requirements and capabilities. It is important to the NPS and committee that the buildings maintain their historical integrity while being rehabilitated.

“This is a former military base and there’s a rich, rich history here,” Glaser said. “We want to be sure that whatever we recommend going forward incorporates that.”

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) learned about the proposed development Wednesday. He called the proposal “unacceptable.”

“The idea of allowing a developer to come in and create apartments to live on the premises long term – whether they are condos for sale or rentals – is inconsistent with the purpose of the national parks and national park areas.” Pallone said he will be sending a letter to the superintendent and following up.

Stillman, who attended the meeting, told the committee members that he understands the importance of preserving the houses’ historical and exterior appearance.

“History is beauty and this is not the place for adventurous architecture in terms of design,” Stillman said. “This is the place to faithfully put back what was, at least in the external perspective.”

He said that at the end of the project, Officers Row will look exactly the same. Stillman said he has been inside every single one of the 21 buildings his firm is going to rehabilitate. While he will try to preserve some of the interior design, Stillman said it will look a little different since the buildings are being used differently now. He said adaptive reuse is okay as long as it is done with respect.

The exact timeline of the project is currently unknown. Stillman believes it will take between a year to 15 months to produce and receive approval of the architectural drawings. The architectural drawings need to be approved by both the NPS and the State Historic Preservation Office. He said once they start physical work, the project should take about a year and a half to finish. The project will be executed in phases, Stillman said.

Stillman has professional experience preserving historic places. His firm is currently restoring the circa 1920 Times Square Theater at 217 West 42nd St. in New York City for retail, entertainment and restaurant use. Recently Stillman completed renovations of The Schumacher, a Romanesque building, also in New York City, constructed in 1885 to house lithographic printing businesses, into luxury condominiums at 36 Bleecker St.

Stillman said he loves working on these types of projects and is excited for this one.

“The magic here is to figure out how to embrace the beautiful history of the buildings and to set them up for their next 100 years of success,” Stillman said. “That’s the essence of what this project is in my personal opinion.”

This story originally appeared in the March 5, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.