Holmdel Takes More Steps to Save the Horn Antenna

August 9, 2023 - At last night's meeting, the Holmdel Township Committee took important steps toward saving the historic Horn Antenna and preserving the surrounding area as a public park.

In June, the governing body authorized an appraisal for two of the three lots at the Crawford Hill property on which the Horn Antenna is located. The appraisal has now been completed and it values the two lots (Lot 6 and 6.01 including the Horn Antenna) at $1.92 million. A resolution approved last night now authorized the Township to enter into good faith negotiations to acquire those two lots for the appraisal amount.

The Township Committee also introduced an ordinance that will authorize the use of eminent domain by the Township to acquire the lots in the event the negotiation is not successful. A bond ordinance was also introduced to fund the cost of the acquisition. There will be a public hearing for those two ordinances and their final adoption at a special meeting on August 22, 2023 at 6:30 pm.

See also the following Patch and Star-Ledger/nj.com articles:

Patch: https://patch.com/new-jersey/holmdel-hazlet/holmdel-will-move-acquire-crawford-hill-historic-antenna-site

Star-Ledger/nj.com: https://www.nj.com/realestate-news/2023/08/nj-town-will-vote-to-acquire-famous-horn-antenna-property-through-eminent-domain.html

Members of the grassroots efforts to save the Horn Antenna and to preserve Crawford Hill property as a public park were on hand to express thanks to Mayor Luccarelli and the Township Committee for the actions taken last night. It was gratifying to see that Mayor Luccarelli and the Township Committee heard the groundswell of public voices and took the first steps for the benefit of the current and future generations of Holmdel residents.

The third lot which contains the former Nokia building (Lot 7) remains the subject of a redevelopment study that is currently before the Planning Board, which will make a recommendation and send the recommendation to the Township Committee for a final determination.

Following last night’s meeting, the Township Committee issued a statement that the Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing on this redevelopment study at a meeting on August 15, 2023, at 7 pm. For now, this August 15th Planning Board meeting does not appear to be on Holmdel Township’s calendar.

Residents living near 791 Holmdel Road and on Longview Drive and Georjean Drive might be interested in attending this public hearing since they will likely be affected by whatever recommendations the Planning Board may make.

About a year ago, the community was buzzing that the historic 18-ton antenna was going to be taken down and transported to another site away from the Crawford Hill property. There was a rumor of fundraising for an estimated moving cost of $500,000.

In several concept plans submitted by the owner to the Township, the Horn Antenna was altogether missing, moved hundreds of feet away from its current location, or fenced in and surrounded by clusters of townhouses. Some of these plans seem oblivious to federal regulations indicating that a structure like the Horn Antenna designated as a National Historic Landmark could lose its designation if it was moved.

However, in anticipation of the actions by the Township Committee, the owner of the Crawford Hill property appears to want to negotiate through the court of public opinion. In a somewhat of turn-around, a press release issued last week quoted the owner as asking “How do you assess such a unique site that is home to the instrument that Nobel Prize-winning scientists used to assert the groundbreaking Big Bang Theory of the origins of the universe? What price do you put on that? $10 million? $20 million? $50 million?”

Fencing the Horn Antenna and surrounding it with clusters of townhouses seems incongruous with the current description as “a unique site that is home to the instrument that Nobel Prize-winning scientists used to assert the groundbreaking Big Bang Theory of the origins of the universe.”

The intent appears to be the desire to negotiate a price for more than the appraisal value and much higher than the purchase price of $3.7 million for the entire property (i.e., all three lots) less than three years ago. The entire Crawford Hill property is currently assessed at $4.1 million for property tax purposes.

Stay tuned! Despite the doldrums of the summer, lots of happening in the next couple of weeks.