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Politics & Government

Historic Cottage to Get a 'Man Cave,' Other Upgrades

1820s house will be restored, caretaker cottage and new garage will be built.

A proposal to restore and upgrade a historic farm in the western section of the township was unanimously approved by the Board of Adjustment on Wednesday evening at the .

Thomas and Mary Albanese, of 15 Wertsville Road on the northern slope of Sourland Mountain, came to the board for variances to build a caretaker cottage on the 46-acre property, restore the house built in the 1820s, including the construction of an addition that will house an indoor pool and build a six-bay garage that will also include a “man cave.”

"I think it’s a great application,” board member Walter Dietz said.

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Because the property is on the Hillsborough Historic Sites List and the New Jersey Historic Sites Inventory, the township’s Historic Preservation Commission reviewed the proposal and approved it in February.

Michael O’Grodnick, attorney for the Albanese, said there are also Somerset County land preservation easements on the property. O’Grodnick also said that Somerset County had signed off on the application.

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Michael Ford, of Van Cleef Engineering, said a new septic system will be constructed for the main house on the property and a separate septic system will be built for the 1,922-square-foot caretaker cottage. He said the septic system for the main house, located about 1,400 feet from Wertsville Road, will blend into the landscape.

The existing garage on the property is “virtually falling down” and will be replaced by a new garage, Ford said.

The new caretaker cottage will not be visible from Wertsville Road, he said. The caretaker now stays in the main house.

Board members emphasized that the caretaker cottage will only be used by employees and not used as a rental property. Both Ford and O’Grodnick assured that board that the Albaneses will not use the cottage for rental income and agreed to that condition in the board approval.

“We will touch home base twice if we need to,” Ford said.

Maximillian Hayden III, the architect for the project, said the house was started by the Whitenack family in 1825 in the Federal style then evolved into the Greek Revival style as the family experienced financial problems. He said the addition housing the indoor pool on the west side of the house will be integrated into the landscape. Hayden said the Albaneses will also upgrade the house’s electrical system and replace the roof. The “man cave” with a wet bar will be on the second floor of the garage.

O’Grodnick said the Albaneses will “painstakingly” restore the property at “great expense.”

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