Grover House restoration
starts after lengthy delay
$394K phase-one project includes new foundation,
first-floor improvements
By ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — A five-year process involving planning, patience, perseverance and more than a-half million dollars, has finally culminated in the beginning of restoration work at the historic Grover House.

The house, circa 1750, which now sits on West Front Street fronting Stevenson Park, has endured a great deal of moving and strain and is totally ready for a face lift starting at the innermost part.

"This historic restoration is a long time coming," said Mayor Joan Smith. "We’re all anxious to see the finished product. It’s a good addition to the other historical sites in Middletown."

Its historic appeal is one that captured the attention of township officials and local and state historic preservationists. Once inhabited by descendants of James Grover, one of the original settlers of Monmouth County and Middletown’s first township clerk, the house had been moved twice: once in the 1950s to make room for the Garden State Parkway, and a second time in 1996, to make room for a development across the street from where it now sits on West Front Street.

In the process of moving and waiting for funds to commence major structural work, the house, a rare example of Dutch-colonial architecture in the area, became weathered.

To remedy this, the first phase of the project will concentrate on making the house weather tight and on fixing the foundation and frame to keep them from rotting. This phase of the work, which began two weeks ago, is slated for completion in December, according to a timeline provided by the restoration contractors, A&J McGrath Inc., of Farmingdale.

Presently, the contractor is working on stabilizing the house, in an effort to improve its foundation. Preparation of the site is by actually lifting the building and demolishing the existing foundation.

Framing of a new foundation is set for sometime in August. Barring complications, the house will be reset on the new foundation in September. Plans through December are to complete first floor framing; exterior woodwork, including the porch and molding; and repair and replace window sashes, door frames and wall shingles.

This contract for phase I with A&J McGrath is for $394,000. In order for work to continue with interior upgrades and decor of the house, the township will apply for further grants.

"We’d like to see it taken over, like the Murray House in Poricy Park," Smith added. "It would make a good venue in which to raise funds to actually sustain itself and the grounds. In any event, we certainly hope the Grover House will continue to be the recipient of grants."

In the year 2000, the N.J. Historic Trust doled out a matching grant for $278,175 for renovation of the house, which the Township Committee agreed to match with township funds.

As far back as 1998, a restoration plan was developed by Westfield Architects and Preservation Consultants, Haddon Heights. The plan was devised in accordance with N.J. Historic Trust guidelines that must be followed when receiving grant money.