Water tower may be torn down

[Cranbury Press]

Water tower may be torn down
Thursday, May 7, 2009 11:47 AM EDT
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer

CRANBURY — A fixture of the community’s skyline for more than a century could soon be just a distant memory as the owner of the “Historic Cranbury” water tower plans to dismantle the structure, deciding it has outlived its usefulness.

Representatives from the New Jersey American Water Company, which owns both the structure and the parcel of land on Maplewood Drive it stands on, said no timeline has been set for the removal.

”The water tower has been out of service for the better part of 10 years now,” said Richard Barnes, spokesman for the company. “We don’t want to invest in a structure that adds no value to our customers.”

Aside from its antiquated state, the tower also has begun leaking, prompting the company to insist on its removal, he said.

”We’ve presented a number of proposals to help (the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society) retain the historic memory of the tower but for right now, we have plans to take it down,” Mr. Barnes said.

Township historian and society member Betty Wagner said she’s been trying to negotiate with New Jersey American Water to restore this piece of the township’s “historical fabric” for more than a decade.

Reading from a letter she had prepared for the company, Ms. Wagner said she only hopes the community will find a way to salvage the tower.

”It has been a symbol of permanence in a century of change from the horse-drawn carriage era to the automobile,” she said. “It’s been indignant to the passage of time.”

The tower, which was constructed in 1906 by the Cranbury Water Company, was converted from a wooden to a steel structure in the early 1940s, she said. Eventually Elizabethtown Water Company, which later became New Jersey American, purchased it.

In modern times, the tower is realistically too small to be used as a backup water system and even has levels of radon that would make it unusable in its current state, said society member Mark Berkowsky.

However, like Ms. Wagner, Mr. Berkowsky said those factors do not change the historical significance it holds for the community.

”It draws from a time when we were much more self-reliant,” Ms. Wagner said, recalling a time in the township’s past when the tower’s water supply was drawn from the local wells.

New Jersey American Water Company is in the process of retaining the proper permits and procuring a company that would be able to take the structure down, Mr. Barnes said.

For the time being, the company has offered Ms. Wagner a few options, including using signage at the site, providing members with the dismantled tower pieces or even selling the structure, along with the land, to the society.

Each option poses its own pitfalls, Ms. Wagner said, as the society has neither the equipment nor the land to supplant the tower and certainly does not have the approximately $300,000 it would cost to purchase the tower and property.

”We looked at matching fund programs,” Mr. Berkowsky said. “But it’s just the wrong economic time. Everyone wants to save it, but no one has any great ideas where the money’s supposed to come from.”

Anyone with ideas or who wish to make a donation are encouraged to call 609-860-1889 or e-mail the society at historycenter@comcast.net.

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/05/08/cranbury_press/news/doc4a030208582ee423646734.txt

[Concerned Neighbor]

I just read this....very sad indeed. How can it cost 300K to buy an old tower on a small parcel of land?

This is a historic landmark and should be saved and preserved. What can be done? I hope it remains.

[Guest]

I also would like to see it preserved. However, I do not feel that that taxpayer funds should pay for it. Maybe someone could start a fundraising drive to have private citizens pay for it.

[Guest]

I will miss it if it were torn down and want it saved. However, town funds should not be used to buy this.

1) The cost alone is 300K.

2) The structure is in need of major repair which is why American Water feels it's cheaper to tear it down than repair it.

3) The structure is covered in lead paint. Remediation would be required so the 300K, plus repair, plus repainting ends up being a major expense.

I would imagine that the tower should be subject to the same approvals as the businesses and homes in the historic district. Therefore, why doesn't the town simply deny the permit to tear down the structure which would force the repair of the tower.

[publius]

$300,000!!!!!!!!!!
For that kind of money it could be bought, fixed up and lived in. Think of it as a cost-effective means to get housing in Cranbury. Maybe, it would even satisfy a COAH obligation somehow.
But, really, it should be saved and repaired. Perhaps, the money spent on the white elephant baseball field could've been used for the tower?
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM??????????????????????
How about taking up a collection and having some fundraisers?

[Guest]

It is an eyesore and it has the historic value of a mushroom. Good riddance.

[Guest]

The original water tower was wood and taken down in the 50's. I like it and think it adds character, but it's nothing special.

[Guest]

[Cranbury Press]

CRANBURY: Water tower to be demolished
Thursday, June 18, 2009 11:47 AM EDT
By Natalie Lescroart, Staff Writer


CRANBURY— After a 10-year battle to preserve the “Historic Cranbury” water tower, members of the town’s Historical and Preservation Society disappointedly acknowledge its necessary demolition.

The New Jersey American Water Co., which owns both the water tower and the land it sits on, received the Historic Preservation Commission’s approval of its request to remove the structure about two weeks ago.

According to a release on the township’s Web site, the company will begin the process of dismantling the tower “on or around June 22.”

”We have secured a contract to dismantle the tower,” said Richard Barnes, spokesman for American Water.

Mr. Barnes added that the engineering and construction firm, Henkels and McCoy, will begin the process at the end of next week. In the meantime, American Water will place public notices around town.
Somber resignation has been the general sentiment in the wake of the decision to take down the tower, which has served as a prominent feature of the community’s skyline since its construction in 1906.

Although the water tower has been out of service for a decade, members of the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society had talked of perhaps buying the tower from the company in order to preserve its “iconic” structure.

”The water tower has much historic significance to the town and village,” said society member and long-time Cranbury resident Mark Berkowsky. “It has been an icon in Cranbury’s history, and it is visible from almost any place around the township.”

But, at a cost of approximately $300,000, the plan didn’t prove economically feasible.

”It’s a matter of dollars and cents, and it’s much more than we could deal with right now,” said Township Historian Betty Wagner.

Ultimately, Mr. Berkowsky and other society members say the situation is one of “demolition by neglect,” noting the tower’s steadily worsening condition. Mr. Barnes has said that the water tower has begun to leak in the last few years.

”Part of our lack of total objection (to the demolition) is the fact that there are serious structural issues with the water tower, which means safety issues,” said Mr. Berkowsky.

”We certainly would have preferred the water tower’s being protected 10 years ago so that we could have prevented it from getting to this point,” said Mr. Berkowsky. “So, we’re disappointed, but we understand.”

The New Jersey American Water Co. has promised to allow the historical society to keep any artifacts, photographs or documentation deemed to be of historical significance.

Mr. Barnes and American Water will present the society with the small “finial ball” from the top of the water tower as an historical souvenir.

Both Ms. Wagner and Mr. Berkowsky expressed their appreciation for the cooperation of the company during this difficult time.

”The New Jersey American Water Co. has been cooperative in offering to provide us with any historical artifacts that might come up, and we appreciate that,” said Ms. Wagner.

With the demolition now imminent, some Cranbury residents, including Frank and Peggy Brennan, have urged that “adequate precautions” be taken so as to avoid the dangerous dispersal of lead paint and debris in the area around the water tower. Mr. Barnes wants to assure the Cranbury public that the contractor will keep all paint chips secured.

”No lead paint chips will be dispersed in the air or will fall on the ground,” said Mr. Barnes. “The whole thing will be done in a very environmentally conscience way.”

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/06/18/cranbury_press/news/doc4a3a6072778b3933647595.txt

[Guest]

Current tower dates from the 1940s.

[Guest]

Well for 300,000 it seems the water tower would have been a better buy than a ball field. All they needed to do was make it a "historical park" and we could have had county funds.

Perhaps the Historical Society or another organization can do a fund raising and build an old fashioned wooden water tower on that site to keep the skyline.

[Elmo]

Elmo thinks the library could buy the water tower and make it the "reading tower".

[Guest]

[Jersey Dad]

So the current proposal for Cranbury's skyline is to take down the "Historic Cranbury" water tower and put up a 60 foot tall Hyatt Place hotel. Maybe next year we can "pave paradise and put up a parking lot".

[Hoppy]

[JoniMitchell]

I guess there are "boutiques" but what about the "screaming hot spot?"Also no big yellow taxi's(yet)