Author Topic: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)  (Read 53988 times)

Offline Editor

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Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« on: December 28, 2009, 11:11:39 PM »
The city recently announced that it was purchasing the Masonic Temple primarily as a replacement for the Cultural Arts Center now on Broadway.  The building may have other uses, including a senior center. 

The existing structure was erected as a church in 1879 and purchased by the Masons in the 1920's.  I took a tour last week.  It is a very impressive space.  The second floor hall is cavernous. Yes- the building has tons of character.

I'll post more soon.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2010, 09:44:27 PM by Editor »



Offline just watching

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2009, 11:57:29 PM »
Are you saying that the Masonic Temple will become a cultural arts center, or that it will become a senior's center.

Or is the existing cultural arts center in the First Ward slated to become a Senior's Center.

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2009, 12:09:44 AM »
The Masonic Temple will be converted into the new Cultural Arts Center with additional uses, possibly a senior center.  It's two floors.  I'm sure it will be in the next editions of the Chronicle and County Seat.

Not sure about plans for the existing cultural arts building on Broadway.

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2009, 12:29:49 PM »
Attached is a history of the Masonic Temple prepared by the Lodge Historian (Reprinted with permission).  Below is the listing in the Bergen County Historic Site Survey.

« Last Edit: December 29, 2009, 12:31:57 PM by Editor »

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2010, 12:12:00 PM »
County Seat article, January 1, 2010. Click article to enlarge.

Offline just watching

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2010, 07:30:15 PM »
Kudo's to the Mayor & Council for deciding to purchase this building.  I think it's a steal at $700,000.

I would like it if the city can find space in this building to house a City of Hackensack Museum

Even if it's just 1000 square feet in the basement, that would be a tremendous step forwards for the city's history.

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2010, 09:26:20 PM »
I'm working on it.  ;)

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2010, 08:36:38 AM »
Related topic: http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php?topic=1381.msg4362 (Methodist Episcopal Church).

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2011, 09:20:23 AM »
Council OKs funding for cultural arts center
Saturday, May 21, 2011
BY MONSY ALVARADO
The Record
STAFF WRITER

HACKENSACK — Work to convert a State Street building into a cultural arts center will be paid for with a $1.2 million bond approved by the City Council this week.

The city-owned brick structure will get a hydraulic elevator with exterior enclosure, and be made wheelchair-accessible at the front and back entrance, according to the ordinance. Construction of a rear staircase, bathrooms, ramps and railings are also planned.

The renovations are needed for the building at State and Atlantic streets to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those repairs are expected to cost about $525,120.

The improvements will also include the construction of a public park on the church's parking lot, which faces Atlantic Street, City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said. That part of the project, estimated at $674,880, will include the demolition of current curbing and landscaping, the ordinance states.

"It's going to be a park-like setting," he said. "Maybe there will be a gazebo."

The majority of the bond will be paid off with grants, said Lo Iacono and City Attorney Joseph Zisa.

Councilman John Labrosse, who voted against the plan to bond for the money to purchase the property last year, said he is in favor of the latest bond because grants will cover costs. He said he is looking forward to seeing the building house the arts. The new park, he said, could likely be the site for the city's outdoor concerts, which are now held at The Green across the street from the county courthouse.

"I think it's a perfect location and it fits great for the plan on Main Street,"' he said, referring to the special business district's plans to revive the downtown.

The building was once a church and most recently home to the Masons Pioneer Lodge 70, until the city bought the property for $710,000 in April 2010. When city officials announced the purchase, they said they hoped that plays, concerts, poetry readings and lectures that will be held at the site would also draw more people to the shopping district.

Hackensack's Cultural Arts Center is now located in a church building on Broadway, and Lo Iacono said the plan is to move all of its programs to State Street once improvements are completed. The offices for the Recreation Department will also move to the building, he said.

Gregory Liosi, the city's superintendent of recreation and artistic productions, could not be reached Friday.

Other local organizations have inquired about leasing space in the building, but Lo Iacono said it's too soon to discuss who else may occupy the 9,000-square-foot space.

The city manager said he also did not know what's in store for the church building, which now houses the cultural arts center.

E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2012, 11:57:02 AM »
WORK PROGRESSES ON ARTS CENTER AT ATLANTIC STREET PARK
A site plan of 102 State St. in Hackensack, N.J.
(Courtesy of DMR Architects)

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- DMR Architects has started the redevelopment of 102 State St. in Hackensack, which will open as a cultural arts center. The site is home of a former Masonic Temple. Constructed in 1870, the temple was previously vacant, for sale and in arrears. In 2010, the City of Hackensack purchased the building and hired DMR to complete two phases of work. The building is nearing completion of the first phase.

The second phase of work will include renovations to the second floor of the facility, delivering a performing arts center upon completion. In addition, an adjacent parking lot will be renovated to become a public park with outdoor performance space.

 

Offline just watching

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2012, 08:22:30 AM »
Very nice.  I was expecting this to go the way of the Essex St/Green St redevelopment.  It's actually happening, and there's nothing on the site plan for the storage of road salt. 

If this whole site is to be considered a "city park" with an arts center building, than I believe that this is the first expanse of city parkland since the expansion of Carver Park.  Not counting County Parkland and river walkways on private property.

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #11 on: October 15, 2012, 02:17:11 PM »
Hackensack plan to convert parking lot into park meeting resistance
Friday, October 12, 2012
BY CAESAR DARIAS
CORRESPONDENT
Hackensack Chronicle

City leaders and business owners are seeking a compromise solution regarding a plan to convert a downtown parking lot into a public park.

The current parking lot — located Atlantic and Warren streets — contains 52 metered parking spaces and is adjacent to where the city is renovating a new 9,000 square-foot cultural arts center, located at Atlantic and State streets.

According to City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono, current plans for the park include a gazebo performance space that can accommodate about 200 people.

"The city would reduce that to about nine spaces and the property owners are not happy," said Joseph R. Contaldi, 57, an attorney who owns part of the Landmark Building at 27 Warren St. "There are a number of commercial businesses that border that parking lot and their clients and customers use that lot."

Contaldi, in an interview after the meeting, who is the "point-person" for concerned businesses, said there have been "meetings, discussions and letters of dissent" written.

"In that building alone there are in excess of 20 attorneys, two accountants, a realtor and a publishing company," said Contaldi. "And that's our building alone."

Contaldi's building also houses his own law office and 14 condominium units.

"We're not losing the spots because we are replacing them," said Lo Iacono.

Lo Iacono also said that a parking consultant found that the parking lot is underutilized. "There's 52 spots," he said. "Of the 52, 14 are leased on a monthly basis by tenants in that building. Of the balance of 38, there is utilization of less than 50 percent of the time. Over 50 percent of the spots were vacant the majority of they day."

Moreover, according to Lo Iacono, "We're going to be creating some on-street parking … and creating another 40 spots on the ground level of a garage on the same street."

Speaking at the Committee of the Whole meeting preceding the council meeting, Councilwoman Karen K. Sasso supported the Atlantic Street Park as a complement to the arts center. "I think that anybody who's against it is just obstructing the future of Main Street," said Sasso. "I'd love to be able to review it and see if we can come to some sort of compromise."

"We don't want to be obstructionists," said Contaldi. "The property owners in the area are hoping to reach a compromise with the city and avoid litigation."

Contaldi said the compromise would allow businesses to "retain approximately half the parking spaces. The city will have a park next to the culture center."

The City's of Hackensack Rehabilitation Plan, an ambitious multi-year project that seeks to revitalize the downtown area with new businesses, housing, civic and cultural institutions, devotes four pages and several additional references to parking issues.

Lo Iacono asserted that the creation of Atlantic Street Park conforms to the needs of the Rehabilitation Plan.

The plan's document, prepared by DMR Architects of Hasbrouck Heights, contains a conceptual design drawing of the arts center and the proposed park. According to Lo Iacono, park construction plans are essentially on hold.

"There is no timetable right now," he said. "We're hoping to get this issue settled without pain."

Email: hackensack@northjersey.com

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #12 on: June 21, 2013, 08:43:49 AM »
Hackensack leaders hail opening of relocated arts center
Friday, June 21, 2013
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
 

The city purchased the church building, built in the mid-1870s, for $715,000. The first floor has been renovated.
VIOREL FLORESCU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

HACKENSACK — City officials hailed the opening of the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center at its new location on State Street as a step toward locating arts and culture in what promises to become a lively new downtown neighborhood.

The arts center, formally opened with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, will allow for an expansion of recreation and culture offerings downtown — an area that the city is trying to revitalize and market as a trendy, attractive place to visit and live.

Mayor Michael Melfi said the council had strongly supported the new home for the center.

"As we move forward with plans for Main Street and rehabilitation, we thought: 'What better way to support Main Street than by offering arts right here, a block away?' " Melfi said.

The city bought the former church and Masonic Lodge for $715,000 three years ago. The Gothic revival brick church was built in the mid-1870s and became a Masonic lodge in 1920. The Freemasons of Pioneer Lodge 70 decided to sell the building as a result of dwindling membership.

The city spent $250,000 to renovate the first floor and programs have already begun there, but the second floor still needs work to convert it into a modern theater space.

City officials say the 9,000-square-foot arts center will house senior programs, concerts, lectures, plays, club meetings and other activities. The first floor includes a large kitchen, storage areas and a meeting space that can fit more than 100 people.

The second floor will house a theater, but City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said there was no timetable or cost estimate for work in that portion of the building.

The Hackensack Cultural Arts Center is now located in a smaller building on Broadway and programs will continue there until construction on the new arts center is complete.

Lo Iacono said that space was "woefully inadequate for all the activity that goes on there."

Lou Scarpati, a member of The Company Theatre Group, which rents space at the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center, said he was enthusiastic about plans for a new, larger theater.

"It's going to be immensely improved," he said. "It's going to be a true theater space."

The city will also move some of the senior programs from a community center on Holt Street into the arts center, allowing the expansion of youth programs there.

The city bonded $1.1 million to buy and renovate the property, but a large portion was reimbursed by grants, Lo Iacono said. He was unable to provide an exact figure Thursday.

The center is at 102 State St., at the corner of Warren Street.

Email: adely@northjersey.com
_____________________________________

Below is a picture I took at the event.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2013, 08:50:29 AM by Editor »

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2014, 12:25:17 AM »
Hackensack City Council approves construction of a park

AUGUST 19, 2014, 7:35 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2014, 7:35 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HACKENSACK – The City Council has approved a $650,000 bond ordinance for the construction of a park that officials said would enhance the downtown as the city seeks to redevelop and lure new residents and businesses.

Council members said the parking lot where the green space would be built is underutilized and that a $268,000 matching grant from the Bergen County Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund would help offset the cost

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/hackensack-city-council-approves-construction-of-a-park-1.1069757#sthash.MUdq56S7.dpuf

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Re: Masonic Temple (State and Warren)
« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2014, 12:39:55 AM »
Hackensack to break ground on new performing arts venue to replace parking lot

AUGUST 25, 2014, 9:43 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014, 10:06 PM
BY JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

HACKENSACK – The city will break ground by the end of October for a new open-air performing arts venue to replace a parking lot that Mayor John LaBrosse calls “an asphalt jungle.”

The landscaped site, to be nestled in a triangle bordered by Warren Street on the south, State Street on the west and Atlantic Street running on the north side, will include a semicircular-shaped amphitheater at the front of a green where people can set up lawn chairs for performances, Labrosse said said on Monday.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/hackensack-to-break-ground-on-new-performing-arts-venue-to-replace-parking-lot-1.1075942#sthash.bKXiS0mv.dpuf