State Plans to Demolish Historic Hospital Building

State officials plan to demolish the historic main building at the closed Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in northern New Jersey.

Treasury Department spokesman Bill Quinn tells The Star-Ledger that officials recently made the decision after receiving six “expressions of interest” from groups interested in redeveloping the 678,000-square-foot Kirkbride Building on the hospital's campus in Parsippany. It was built in 1876 and closed in 2008.

Quinn says all those plans would involve “some state aid or subsidy,” and the state has no money allocated for the project. Although there is a federal historic tax credit, there is no state historic credit and Quinn says several of the proposals depend on the state adopting such a credit.

Officials tentatively plan to start the demolition work in February or March.

The state must first seek bids for the work and would have to remediate the site by removing asbestos, lead-based paint and other hazardous materials. Quinn said 60 vacant buildings and structures at the old Greystone site are also due to be torn down.

State officials will meet with Preserve Greystone, a community group dedicated to repairing and redeveloping the Kirkbride Building, to address the group's concerns. They also want to know if has any financially viable ideas before the demolition plans move forward.

Adam McGovern, a trustee of Preserve Greystone, told the newspaper the state “is moving too fast” and should review the expressions of interest more closely, with input from the public and state historic officials.

A consultant's report completed for the Treasury Department found no financially “feasible” way to redevelop the building. It estimated that renovating the structure would cost between $110 million and $125 million.
   
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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