Greystone: Scrap it or save it? Discussion at Morris County Library, April 23

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Can the old Greystone Park State Psychiatric Hospital, a symbol of the best and worst days of the American mental health system, be saved for posterity?

Are luxury condos the answer?  Is the wrecking ball the only cure?

Consider the options on Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Preserve Greystone is hosting a 7:30 pm discussion, in the public meeting room of the Morris County Library, at 30 E. Hanover Ave. in Whippany.

A consultant’s report released this month found no financially viable way to rescue the hospital’s massive Kirkbride building, a French Renaissance/Second Empire-style structure erected in 1876 and closed five years ago.

But the state has invited private developers to take a look, resulting in a couple of nibbles, according to The Star-Ledger.  Developers have until May 30 to formally inform the state of their interest, the paper said.

“This building could be a poster child for successful historic/green renovation,” John Heubner, president of Preserve Greystone, tells us.

Some portions of the Kirkbride building have more historic value than others, he says, suggesting those parts might be restored while rooftops could be rebuilt with alternative energy uses in mind.

Such projects might qualify for innovative mixes of historic preservation and energy conservation tax credits, John said.

Morris County acquired 400 acres at Greystone–which straddles the Morris Plains/Parsippany border–for $1 in 2002, for athletic fields, group homes for the mentally ill and offices for nonprofits including the Interfaith Food Pantry.

greystone meeting flyer

1 COMMENT

  1. I say SAVE IT, keep it as an historical building and change it to a Hotel or Condos! It is such a beautiful building.

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