Historic Haddon Heights church demise opening new role for White Horse Pike campus
HADDON HEIGHTS — A second life as a senior housing community is a bit closer for the campus of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church off White Horse Pike, an example of a diminished congregation figuring out what to do with a substantial real estate legacy.
The borough has spent about five years considering how the church property might have its core preserved but the rest repurposed to a viable but secular use. That work now is much closer to producing a result.
The Borough Council, with no objections from members or residents, on Tuesday night adopted a redevelopment plan. The plan basically serves as a special zoning guide for reconstruction of St. Mary’s.
More: Seniors apartments expanding at St. Stephen Church
More: Monroe intersection project passes midpoint, but new hurdle from Trenton
The next step is reaching an agreement with 18 White Horse Pike LLC. The corporation already is tapped by the borough to build the age-restricted community on the campus, and it also has the rights to buy the site.
Michael Turner, a spokesman for the development corporation, after the meeting said the project pace should move quickly now.
“Again, it’s a small town and people have their opinions,” Turner said. “And they’re allowed to voice them. But this is one step forward.”
The site actually is two lots at 14 and 18 White Horse Pike, comprising a parking lot and the church itself with the offices and parsonage. Besides the Pike, the property has frontage along Green Street and East Atlantic Avenue, where it abuts a public elementary school.
Turner said important pieces of the church proper will be repurposed, such as stained glass windows. One window incorporates a Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a congregation member.
The pipe organ will be preserved.
“Probably the most important thing is there is a memorial garden,” Turner said. “And the ashes of some of the congregants are spread over it. So, that is going to be preserved.”
The church will not be physically part of the housing community, which would have about 37 units.
In 2019, the council directed its Planning Board to recommend whether a 60,000-square-foot area of the property qualified under state law as “an area need of redevelopment.” Condemnation was ruled out. The board answer was yes, and the council approved the designation in November 2020.
The proposed housing would be open only to people 55 years old and older, with at least 15 percent of the units priced as “affordable.”
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Senior housing coming together for Haddon Heights church property
