SAVE OUR SCHOOL!


Efforts Reported to Franklin Township

Below are some of the various efforts made by members of the Kingston Village Advisory Committee (KVAC) and volunteer members of our community to advance the community effort of saving, rehabilitating and repurposing the Laurel Avenue School (LAS) on Union Street in Kingston.

Community Outreach

We've held meetings, large and small, with individual citizens and members of Kingston's active community organizations such as Kingston Greenways Assoc., Kingston Historical Society, Friends of Kingston Nursery Lands, Kingston Garden Club and others, in an effort to quantify and record their needs for this important space. All of these groups have voiced a desire and need to use a "community center" facility should one be established.

Further, we have reached out to regional public facilities and resources in and around Kingston such as historic Rockingham. Because of their own limited meeting and event space and the proximity of the LAS, they have expressed a strong interest in using the school and are developing the specifics for us.

On January 26, KVAC held it's annual public meeting. At that meeting, extensive discussion was held with the Kingston community at large on their needs for and feelings about these historic structures. The consensus was that the community feels very strongly about keeping the structures intact, particularly the "older" portion of the building, and that there was great support for the idea of a community center being housed therein.

As a result of these meetings, a Save Our School subcommittee has been created which is comprised of members of KVAC as well as community volunteers who are committed to preserving the school

The KVAC website is being updated with a "Save Our School" link to keep the community informed of our efforts and progress.

A multitude of contacts have been made by both members of KVAC and subcommittee members with other parties and institutions which might offer advice, services or funding. Numerous discussions have taken place and many of these efforts are still in progress. Below are just a few of the contacts that were made.

Princeton University - Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering and Sustainability regarding possible participation by classes in projects which might further the efforts of saving the school. Discussions are ongoing.

Rutgers University Director of Media regarding possible projects to be undertaken by university students which would further our efforts. We are awaiting contact information for the Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy about the viability of projects to be performed by classes or possible services they may be willing to supply.

Meeting was held with a contact in Cranbury who was instrumental in saving their historic schoolhouse. They have for many years run a successful and profitable cultural center. This will be an ongoing resource throughout this effort.

Members of the subcommittee have reached out to available consulting resources regarding the possibility of creating an arts incubator and other non-profit endeavors.

Behind the Scenes

Along with these other efforts, KVAC and Sub-Committee members have been working to "fill in the pieces" when information or data were not readily available. For instance, following extensive research, we were unable to secure a copy of the floor plan to the buildings. This left us at a distinct disadvantage when speaking to prospective lessees or academics. A sub-committee member took it upon herself to ask an architect who lives in the Village to produce a floor plan (attached to this report) by inspecting the outside of the buildings.

Small, informal meetings and contacts have been made with community members, merchants and others regarding support for our efforts. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Leasing Interest

The Kingston Village Advisory Council has reached out and made contact with Non-Profit Organizations (NPO), who at one point in the past had expressed an interest in leasing the Laurel Avenue School after being vacated by the Franklin Township Board of Education. The purpose of the initial outreach was to determine if an NPO would have any real interest in leasing any portion of the facility and to gauge the viability in the concept. Based on these contacts, if the decision was made to rehabilitate the facility, there seems to be strong feasibility, even in this economic downturn, of finding a lessee for the facility. We had engaged NPO's with a clarification that this is an opportunity to lease either all or a portion of the facility with the proviso that the older portion of the facility must be preserved and jointly used by the Village of Kingston as a community center. We did not receive any pushback from any prospects to this notion.

In the contacts we established, one particular group that was interested in the former school is an arts education NPO that is currently based in the Princeton area. This group has since visited the school on two separate occasions and is very excited about this opportunity. The group envisions that they would lease the newer portion of the facility which is one story and estimated to be 7,700 square feet (see Photo 1). They would also lease the older portion of the school (see Photo 2) in a limited capacity in order to be able to take advantage of the auditorium and stage space (see Photo 3) on the second floor. The original portion of the facility is estimated to be 5,000 square feet or 2,500 square feet per story (see Floor Plan). The arts group would occupy the entire facility during normal business hours and then allow the original portion of the facility to be used as a community center for the Village during evening hours and weekends. They have also stated that they would request to use the auditorium during evening hours a few times a year for public arts events.

This NPO understands that we would need to seek the approval from the New Jersey State House in order for Green Acres to accept the signing of a lease at the facility. They understand this process can be lengthy and fortunately have time in their requirement schedule to permit this extensive activity. This group would be interested in signing at least a three-year lease. A specific rental rate has not been discussed with them due to all the present uncertainties in the facility and potential variables, but a fact is if this group entered in negotiations to lease this facility, numerous leasing options exist that may possibly be structured as follows:

1.) Franklin Township and KVAC rehabilitate the entire exterior envelope of the facility (roof, gutters, ADA access components, windows, brick repointing, etc.) as well as all the interior tenant improvements (fire panel, asbestos abatement, HVAC, tile/carpet, lights, drop ceiling, etc.). At the end of the day when the rehabilitation work is completed, the facility would receive a Certificate of Occupancy and be move-in ready for any typical tenant. FT and KVAC would enter into a gross-rent lease agreement. This would include a base rent to recover the cost of the improvements plus all operating expenses (electric, insurance, facility maintenance, grounds maintenance, water, sewer);

2.) Franklin Township and KVAC rehabilitate the entire exterior envelope of the facility and only the essential interior improvement work (fire alarm panel work, asbestos abatement, HVAC). When this renovation work is complete, the facility would obtain a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy and await a tenant to make the final improvements needed to receive the final Certificate of Occupancy. Like above, FT and KVAC would enter into a gross-rent lease arrangement but the base rent would be less due to the tenant covering the cost of the final improvements. The operating expense portion of the rent would not change; and

3.) Franklin Township and KVAC rehabilitate only the roof portion of the facility to stop the reoccurring water damage to the facility. Then FT and KVAC leave all the remaining exterior and interior work to the tenant. In this scenario, FT and KVAC would enter into a gross-rent lease arrangement but the base rent would essentially be reduced to zero (for a set period of time) since the tenant would have covered all the capital improvement expenditures. The tenant would only be responsible for paying the recurring operating expenses.

This is just an overview of our efforts. They are ongoing and current. The members of KVAC and the SOS Subcommittee remain committed to this endeavor.

Anyone from the community who has expertise, leads or any other information/services that could help us, please e-mail us at info@kingstonvac.org

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Floor Plan

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