South Jersey preservationists alarmed about 300-seat theater next to Boxwood Hall

A preliminary proposal to build a downtown performing and visual arts center behind historic Boxwood Hall in Haddonfield is gaining traction but also alarming local preservationists.

The center would include galleries as well as a new, 300-seat home for the borough's homegrown community theater company, Haddonfield Plays and Players.

"Boxwood Arts" also could host exhibits by the borough's Markeim Arts Center as well as performances by other theatrical and cultural organizations in South Jersey and Philadelphia.

"A group of folks have approached us with this concept plan and are out there actively working to see if this is [financially] feasible," Mayor Jeff Kasko said Wednesday.

"We've been neutral about it, but we have asked them to give us an update, which we expect in the next couple of weeks," he said. "Obviously, there are concerns about parking, and stuff like that must be discussed."

The borough purchased the 18th-century house called Boxwood Hall along with a 20th-century house and 1.4 surrounding acres at 65 N. Haddon Ave. for $1.8 million in 2014.

The deal was part of a settlement with a developer who sought to build an apartment complex on the property.

"We have a wonderful opportunity to bring a lively arts venue to South Jersey; one that is rightsized for downtown Haddonfield and harmonious with the heritage woods and historic nature of the site," Megan York Parker, a spokeswoman for Boxwood Arts, said in a written statement.

"We will offer programming that matches the fabric of the community and have formed a strategic partnership with . . . a well-funded Philly-based arts organization seeking an anchor location in South Jersey." The statement did not identify the arts organization.

"A variety of financing options are being explored, and an active fund-raising campaign has been launched and is gaining significant interest and wide support," the statement concluded.

While the newer house on the site would be demolished under the Boxwood Arts proposal, supporters say the proposal would preserve Boxwood Hall and some of what is now parklike open space on the property.

"Certainly the concept is worth exploring," former Mayor Jack Tarditi said, noting that restaurants and other businesses in the center of town would benefit.

"It has a good deal of merit."

But Kim Custer, author of a new children's book about a renowned local naturalist who spent time at Boxwood Hall, and Brian Kelly, founder of the Haddonfield United watchdog group, raised questions about the proposal at Tuesday's Haddonfield commissioners meeting.

"We already spent a lot of time and a lot of money fighting against inappropriate development on that site," Custer told me Wednesday.

"The setting and the yard are what give Boxwood Hall a sense of history. What would be the difference between a big box theater there and apartments there?

"A 300- or 400-seat theater isn't a cute little building," Custer added. "This thing is huge. It would destroy the setting of Boxwood Hall."

Kelly said the future of the site "is a tough question," noting that the municipally owned property is no longer a source of tax revenue.

"I want to make sure that if they put something there, it's reasonable," he said. "I love that area. It's just a beautiful stretch of history . . . the nexus of history in Haddonfield.

"And we don't know what the [performing arts] plans are going to look like."

Said Kasko: "I agree with Kim that the ultimate thing would be to preserve" the property in its entirety.

"But we don't really have the money to continue to maintain and operate it as it is," the mayor said. "We'd like to sell it, but nobody has come forward. We have to find some alternative use for it.

"This sort of nonprofit arts or cultural center could be an alternative that could work."

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