The grounds of the long-demolished Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital will soon be transformed into a park for passive recreation under a new land management agreement, Monmouth County officials said.<\/p>\n
As part of the agreement with the state, the 411 acres will now be managed by county officials, who seek to preserve the historic property. The county will have the option to purchase the land in 2033, when the state finishes paying off a set of bonds that the Marlboro property became tied into after it was acquired by the state in 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel pretty confident it\u2019s going to be a very favorable transfer in 2033, but in the interim, our residents are going to be able to utilize a very viable, beautiful piece of property,\u201d Thomas Arnone, director of the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners, told NJ Advance Media.<\/p>\n
The property, which will become a part of the Monmouth County Parks System, will be used for activities such as walking and wildlife observation, Arnone said. Officials are aiming to have trails available to the public by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Under the land management deal, the county will only have to pay for the maintenance of the property for the next eight years, officials said. In 2033, the state could potentially transfer ownership of the land to the county for just $1. \u201cThat would be my ultimate goal there,\u201d Arnone said.<\/p>\n
The psychiatric hospital opened in 1931 and operated until it was closed by the state in 1998. Demolition began<\/a> in 2014 on the facility\u2019s buildings, which once housed between 500 and 800 patients at a given time, Arnone said.<\/p>\n Although county and township officials have been working with the state for over a decade to preserve the property as open space, the formal land transfer agreement was announced on Aug. 8.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been moving steadily forward, very, very slowly, sometimes painfully slowly,\u201d Ross Licitra, county commissioner, said in a press conference.<\/p>\n After becoming mayor of Marlboro in 2008, Jonathan Hornik said he immediately had the property rezoned to prevent development, lowering its value from $40 million to about $1 million.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a lifelong resident, I have always known how important preserving these 411 acres was to our community,\u201d Hornik said in a news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the press conference, Hornik joked that the county will lean into the property\u2019s haunted reputation.<\/p>\n \u201cThis place has ghosts,\u201d Hornik said. \u201cAnd I know this because on my desk as mayor every year, I get notified and asked if professional ghostbusters can come in here and run activities. By the way, it\u2019s something we should probably do around Halloween here.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1997, the county acquired nearly 400 acres of hospital-owned land across the street, which has since been transformed into Big Brook Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arnone says he anticipates that preserving the grounds of the hospital as open space will have a positive impact on county residents\u2019 taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think that development is a positive on tax flow for municipalities,\u201d Arnone said in the press conference. \u201cThat\u2019s not always the case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe really, really, really take pride in our open space and acquisitions,\u201d he told NJ Advance Media. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019re very proud of and we feel in the long run here, this would be more beneficial, and it seems to be very favorably received from the residents here in Monmouth County.\u201d<\/p>\n Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n