UPDATE:
MLH suggests you view this story from a large-screen device, as documents are embedded into the story using a PDF viewer. If you use a smartphone, you must download the documents to view them. Also, the MLHP has contacted Bernardsville’s mayor, Mary Jane Canose, for comments and has added her statement below.
For those living in Bernardsville, New Jersey, you should be happy all year long as the town celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2024. Names like Kirkpatrick, Olcott, Ballentine, Stevens, Post, and Parker dot the history books with their town presence and historic moments that go way beyond the 100th anniversary of what was once known as Vealtown, an important crossroads of the American Revolution.
Bernardsville was a hamlet of Bernards Township prior to 1924. Given all that’s happening in Bernardsville with their centennial celebration, there’s a bit of controversy regarding the possible demolition of what’s locally known as the Boylan house, a property that’s on the chopping block based on a recent approval of what’s known as the “Palmer Square Project.”
HELP: LOOKING FOR ANY old photos of this home at 35 Olcott Square, Bernardsville, NJ. Please post if you have one.
The Boylan House is listed explicitly in Bernardsville’s Master Plan and in the Somerset County Cultural Resource Survey as a historic building. Excepting the Old Library Building, the Boylan House is far and away the oldest standing landmark structure in the borough’s downtown. The other historic building, Manker’s Hall, was built in 1895 and was the site of a reputed prohibition-era speakeasy and gambling hall, which was brazenly robbed at gunpoint by mobsters in the 1930s. (LTTE- Bville News Feb. 6,2024)
Palmer Square Proposal
The Palmer properties redevelopment plan has generated widespread interest since being publicly disclosed in January 2022. Three properties owned by Palmer Enterprises feature the three-story Palmer Building at 39 Olcott Square, a two-story housing law offices at 35 Olcott Square, and a two-story building housing the Studio 7 Art Gallery at 5 Morristown Road. All properties share an expansive parking lot to the rear along the railroad tracks.
The owner of the property, former Bernardsville Mayor Peter Palmer, has worked to redevelop the area with Advance Realty Investors of Bedminster, led by Peter Cocoziello Jr. of Far Hills, a principal and managing director of Advance Realty. Palmer Properties is proposing a four-story project including 68 market-rate housing units, 9,230 square feet of retail space, and 139 parking spaces. The site is a 1.08-acre lot.
In September 2022, the council voted 4-2 to designate the Palmer properties as an area in need of redevelopment. Then in May 2023, the Town Council adopted a redevelopment ordinance for the property. Last August 2023, the council passed a resolution designating Advance Realty at Bernardsville as the redeveloper.
According to an analysis performed by the recently founded community advocacy group Bernardsville for Responsible Development, the height of the apartment towers will be 70 percent greater than the average height of all surrounding structures on Olcott Square.
One of Bville’s First Families – The Boylans
The Boylans, who built one of the three structures about 1751, were among the founding settlers of what was then known as Vealtown at the base of Bernardsville Mountain. For your information, many have stated that the Boylan name is pronounced “Bullion.”
In 1914, the Somerset Country Quarterly published a story about the Boylans of Somerset County. Yes, the Boylans are one of the original founding families of Somerset County, who settled in Vealtown (Bernardsville) and Pluckemin (Bedminster). You’ll see how the family married with other famous families in the area, including other founding family names: Annin, Vanderveer, Eoff, Dunlop, Bishop Janes, Alward, Blair, and more.
Read about the Boylans below and determine if their story and the Boylan House in Bernardsville should be saved from the wrecking ball. The Boylan family is so tied to Bernardsville’s history that they’re even mentioned in the Aaron Mellick classic book ” The Story of an Old Farm.”
1914 – The Boylan History – Somerset Quarterly Magazine
Bernardsville Historic Preservation
Bernardsville does have a historic preservation advisory committee. Currently, there is no mention of this project or the Boylan house.
Founded in 2002, Bernardsville’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee is dedicated to the promotion of historic preservation through planning, outreach, conservation, education, public programs and events.
Bernardsville Historic Preservation Commission Mission Statement
https://www.bernardsvilleboro.org/boards/historic
Here was the latest response from the Bernardsville HPAC regarding the Palmer Square Project:
“I investigated moving the building, which is doable albeit a little tricky because it is about the same size front to back and side to side (34′ x 34′?). Moving, say, two blocs would cost about $200,000 plus foundation work. Renovation costs for the kitchen and bathrooms plus painting, as well as probably some electrical, plumbing, and utilities, would come at an additional cost. I’m guessing all in would be say $500,000 to $600,000 not including the land. There are some potential properties within two blocks of the present location, and moving involves dropping utility lines and removing tree limbs plus the cooperation of utility companies and the police.”
Daniel Lincoln, Chair, Bernardsville Historic Preservation Advisory Committee
“Discussions on the Palmer project began in April 2022 with a study to determine if the property qualified as an “Area in Need of Redevelopment.” The Council determined that it did qualify as such, and the study is available on the Borough’s website. On August 10, 2023, the Council held a special meeting for the public where the architect for AR showed the plans for the project, so the demolition of this building is not a new concept. This presentation has been available to the public on the Borough’s website since then. It’s important to keep in mind that this is private property so the owner has the right to develop the property within the zoning standards, which they have done. The Boylan house is not registered as an historic building, so it is not protected from demolition. One solution for preserving the home would be to move it to another location, but according to Dan Lincoln, that would cost $500,000 – $600,000, plus the cost of the land where it would be relocated.”
Mary Jane Canose – Bernardsville Mayor
Committee Members
- Valerie Barnes
- Gerry Jo Cranmer
- Eileen Grippo
- Daniel W. Lincoln, Chair
- Joseph Bonk
- Steve Sbaraglio
- Tom Wood, Alternate #2
- Diane Greenfield, Council Liaison
For additional information – please check the Bernardsville Planning Board website (searched for Palmer) – Click Here
Also, here’s a link to the Bernardsville Master Plan – Click Here
What’s Next
If the residents of Bernardsville wish to save the Boylan House, it’ll be up to them to organize and show a unified front to save the property. MLH is a small non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and promote local history, but it does not have the resources to support the towns’ responsibility to preserve what they want to save from a historical perspective. We also try to avoid political battles and name-calling because of anger. We remember the saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” we hope the information provided here is enough for the community to take charge and attempt to change the project’s direction and find a way to save such a historic Bernardsville landmark.
Interactive map of some of the historic homes in the Somerset Hills area of Northern Somerset County, New Jersey
More Bernardsville History
What is our best course of action to STOP this destruction of historic Bernardsville?
We’re happy to share the history of the Boylan family and their Bernardsville history. GREAT QUESTION – we added a response from the Bville HPAC to the story, which should be a great source and advocate to save historic icons in the town. We’ve also reached out to the Bernardsville Mayor for comment to see if anything could be done. Not knowing the process of how the Planning Board got to this point, the residents should be the best advocates to demand more from their elected officials. Ask them for options.
How can it possibly be that you published this post over two months ago, and this is the first I am reading it? Your research would be invaluable to our Planning Board in its ongoing review of this application. The next, and possibly final, hearing on this application will by on June 13. Will you be in attendance to advocate on behalf of this historic property? I truly hope so. Your voice carries the gravitas of the immense respect you have earned through countless hours of research and devotion to our collective history.
Driving in the car this weekend I heard one of my favorite artists, the late great Jimmy Buffett, sing, in his anti-overdevelopment anthem Prince of Tides: “How can you tell how it used to be when there’s nothing left to see.” I couldn’t help thinking of the impending bulldozing of the Boylan House if people of good will do not speak out against it. That is what made me search “Boylan House history” and discover you post. Hopefully it is kismet, and you will take action to prevent this potential tragedy.
One response to our Mayor’s statement. Mayor Canose states that “the owner has the right to develop the property within the zoning standards, which they have done.” Completely false. The zoning standards for the Downtown Core (which were passed in 2020) would not allow development to nearly this scale. It was only the Council’s decision to grant this politically-influential property owner special treatment through an unconstitutional “Area in Need of Redevelopment” designation that permitted overdevelopment of the lot on this massive scale.
On top of that, the Council handed out a multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidy to the development through a 30 year tax exemption, without which the developer represented to the Council that it could not, and would not, go forward with the development. So your readers should make no mistake – our governing body enabled, encouraged, and financially incentivized (with our money) the destruction of a piece of our history, so that politically-influential individuals could massively profit from the overdevelopment of our downtown. Shameful.
– Aaron Duff, Bernardsville