Published in mycentraljersey.com September 13, 2023
PLAINFIELD – One of the city’s landmark churches may be replaced by a six-story apartment building.
The City Council on Monday designated LE Development at Plainfield LLC as the redeveloper for the Grace Episcopal Church site on Cleveland Avenue. Councilmen Sean McKenna and Richard Wyatt and Council Vice President Terri Briggs-Jones voted against the resolution.
LE Development at Plainfield, which has a contract to purchase the property, is proposing 136 apartments in the six-story building. The plan calls for 136 parking spaces, 18 of which will be designated for electric vehicle charging stations.
Carolyn Pittis, speaking on behalf of her father Albert Pittis, said her family donated the land for the church, and urged the Council to slow down the process. She said the carillon in the church is one of four in New Jersey and it is nationally recognized, and there also is a high-quality organ in the church.
“We need more details on what the plan actually is for the existing structure,” she said. “It’s essential for the community not to make a grave error and rush through something they will regret.”
City resident Jeff Spelman, who was married at the church and played the church carillon bells for several years, had asked the Council to table the resolution, noting the 39-page agreement includes no mention of the church, the grounds, the historic nature or preservation. He said preservation language should be added to the agreement.
Resident Nancy Piwowar said the city and developer should be aware of the memorial garden on the church property where at least 30 people are interred. She said it’s not a graveyard, but a cremation garden, and the city has in the past built on cemetery property.
She said she believes the ashes from a former councilmember from the area are in the garden, and the ashes are not in containers or urns. She asked that the relatives of those interred in the garden be notified so they have the opportunity to remove the ashes.
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A city official said the church, more than a century old, will be preserved as part of an adaptive reuse plan. An 85-page report on its history will be available during the governmental reviews slated to begin next month, officials said.
Zenobia Fields, the city’s economic development director, said the interred remains on the church property were removed, but did not have details about those arrangements. One former resident who attended the meeting said she had not been notified about the remains of a family member.
In 2020 the church, located at 600 Cleveland Ave., announced a decision to sell the 130-year-old Gothic Revival-style building following decades of diminished attendance, decreased income, building conditions and the inability to afford critical repairs which could cost millions.
The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey approved the decision to sell the building and a plan to merge Grace Church with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Plainfield.
The church is listed on the both the state and national Register of Historic Places and had windows donated by a member of the Tiffany family.
Preservation New Jersey’s annual list of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in New Jersey that are in danger of being lost, released earlier this year, included Grace Episcopal Church.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Editorial Note – The statement from Director Fields regarding removal of interred remains is incorrect. As of the publishing of the article no actions have taken place regarding the memorial garden and no family members have been notified of any plans. This was confirmed with the church’s junior warden.