skip
general nav links
About ACHP
ACHP News
National Historic
Preservation
Program
Working with
Section 106
Federal, State, & Tribal Programs
Training & Education
Publications
Search |
|
skip specific nav links
Home
Working with Section 106 ACHP
Case Digest Fall
2004 New Jersey: Rehabilitation
of Portions of Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook
New
Jersey: Rehabilitation of Portions of Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook
Agency: National Park
Service
As a military
base, Fort Hancock in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, reflected important
developments in 19th- and 20th-century American defense. The National
Historic Landmark was the site of the Nations first artillery
proving ground in the 1870s, and was a location for NIKE surface-to-air
missiles during the Cold War.
Today, a private
developer with a 60-year lease on the property plans to redevelop
36 of the 100 historic buildings in the Fort Hancock Historic District
for education, office, and hospitality uses. Such a public-private
partnership for long-term preservation is envisioned in the Preserve
America Executive Order.
The ACHP is
helping to draft an agreement to resolve adverse effects to historic
properties during the lease.
|
For nearly 200 years, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, was a strategic military
base to protect New York City. In 1778, this peninsula near New Yorks
harbor served as a base for the British Royal Navy to maintain control
of the city. During the War of 1812, the U.S. military occupied the promontory
to avert a second attempt by the British to occupy New York.
Gun at Battery Granger, Fort Hancock, New Jersey (historic
photo: NPS)
By 1899, a new base at Sandy Hookcalled Fort Hancock, in honor
of Civil War General Winfield Scott Hancockgradually developed into
the most important of the complexes guarding the approaches to New York
Harbor.
In the 1950s, the U.S. military installed NIKE surface-to-air missiles
to protect the U.S. from possible Soviet air attacks. Finally, in 1974,
the U.S. Army decommissioned the base, and Fort Hancock became part of
the Gateway National Recreation Area, owned by the National Park Service
(NPS).
In July 2004, NPS awarded a 60-year lease for 36 of the National Historic
Landmark buildings to a private developer. Under the Fort Hancock Rehabilitation
and Preservation Project, the company plans to rehabilitate the unused
and deteriorating buildings for education, offices, and hospitality purposes.
The remaining 64 buildings will continue to be used by the National Park
Service and its non-profit partners, including the Marine Academy of Science
and Technology High School, the New Jersey Marine Science Consortium,
the New Jersey Audubon Society, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Marine Fisheries Laboratory.
Some organizations, such as Save Sandy Hook, are concerned about the
fate of the historic properties under the long-term private lease.
NPS is drafting a Programmatic Agreement to ensure that it considers
potential adverse effects on the historic properties with the projects
consulting parties, and that it resolves those adverse effects consistent
with the Secretary of the Interiors Standards for the Treatment
of Historic Properties.
The draft agreement provides for NPS oversight and State Historic Preservation
Officer (SHPO) review of rehabilitation activities. Under the terms of
the agreement, the developer will follow the stringent review process
for Federal rehabilitation tax credits, whether or not it chooses to pursue
such credits.
The ACHP is weighing in on the draft agreement, which is also being reviewed
by Save Sandy Hook, Middletown Landmarks Commission, Monmouth County Historical
Association, Sandy Hook Partners, and the New Jersey SHPO.
In May 2004, the ACHP informed NPS Director Fran Mainella that the ACHP
would participate in the Section 106 process. In August 2004, New Jersey
Environment Commissioner Bradley Campbell and U.S. Representative Frank
Pallone, Jr. requested the ACHP to hold a public meeting on the Fort Hancock
rehabilitation project.
In October 2004, the ACHP and the New Jersey SHPO co-hosted a public
meeting with NPS at Fort Hancock. The meeting allowed the agencies to
hear the interested publics views of the measures to be included
in the agreement.
NPS will accept written public comments on the proposed project until
November 30, 2004. Once NPS, the ACHP, and the New Jersey State Historic
Preservation Officer review the comments, they will revise the agreement
as deemed necessary to include ongoing public participation and any other
measures that are responsive to the comments.
Staff contact: Martha
Catlin
Posted December 17, 2004
Return to Top |