A plan to build a five-story apartment building on Lincoln Avenue where a historic house once stood in Orange was approved by the Planning Board last month.
The proposed building will include 17 apartments with 27 on-site parking spots. Architect Erin Pumo, senior partner at Inglese, said the firm took inspiration from the home that used to stand on the property, with a mansard roof and facade accents that resemble half-timbering used in Tudor-style homes.
“It was designed to fit within the context of the neighborhood,” Pumo said. “The overall aesthetic of this multi-family building is meant to resemble the Tudor-style home that was previously on the lot – but we’re giving it a little modern flair.”
However, it wasn’t the building’s design that drew criticism from neighbors. It was the size of the apartment building. The neighborhood has undergone a vast transformation in the past few years with one-family homes being demolished for multi-unit apartment buildings.
“It’s already hard to park on Lincoln Avenue as it is,” said Denise Williams, who lives nearby, and argued that the homes in the neighborhood lack driveway, causing them to rely on street parking.
“We have problems now – I can’t quite fathom the influx of residents,” said Jeannette Galante, an 86-year-old, lifelong city resident. “Nowadays, every adult that lives in an apartment or home has an automobile.”
This is the fourth multi-story building on Lincoln Avenue to gain the city’s approval in the past few years. Two of the approved project, 416 Highland Avenue and another at 415 Highland Avenue – will bring hundreds of new residents. The old Tremont Avenue School will be demolished for a 70-unit building.
The historic home that once stood there burned down three years ago during a time when the city was experiencing a rash of fires at important landmarks. The property at 551 Lincoln Avenue is part of the Seven Oaks Historic District. However, the proposal hasn’t come before the Historic Preservation Commission, following an unfortunate trend in which the commission has been routinely ignored.
Four days after the historic home on Lincoln Avenue burned down, the Masonic Temple on Main Street burned to the ground. Four months later, a 19th-century industrial building on Mitchell Street caught fire as well.
The home at 551 Lincoln Avenue is more than a century old. At the time the Atlas of the Oranges was published in 1912, the home appeared on a map of Orange and was part of J. Ralston Grant’s estate. Grant’s family owned the Woodstock Lumber Company in Jersey City. It is not clear who among his household lived at the adjoining home at 551 Lincoln Avenue. Grant died in 1902 at age 47, according to an obituary in the Morning Call.
“I used to pass this house every day when I went for walks with my dog — it was the most beautiful house on the block,” said Nordia Gibbs, who lives on Lincoln Avenue. “It went up for sale, then it caught fire – and it broke my heart.”
