Legal Fund to Protect Stockton
Donation protected
Legal Fund to Protect Stockton - Help Save Our River Town
Please donate to our legal fund to stop developer Avon Road Partners from creating their “Vision for the Stockton Inn” and forever changing the borough of Stockton, New Jersey.
See Avon Road Partners’ video that outlines their plans here: https://vimeo.com/508151744 Password: StocktonInn1
Avon Road Partners’ “Vision” includes
· A 1000-seat outdoor amphitheater for 40+ concerts and events a year
· A 17,000-square-foot, 3-story building with 28 hotel rooms
· A 1,500-square-foot, 2-story connecting walkway to adjoin the existing Inn
with the new buildings
· Using the Stockton Borough Park to park 400 cars during events
· Having Stockton Borough declare the Inn properties and Stockton Borough
Park an “area in need of redevelopment” in order to loosen zoning restrictions
Why We Are Fighting This “Vision”:
We all want to have the Stockton Inn reopened as a restaurant/bar, hotel, and wedding and banquet venue. However, the plans for a concert amphitheater, massive addition, and proposal to park hundreds of cars in the public park are a serious concern for borough residents and would destroy our quiet river town’s charm and way of life.
Many residents are also distressed by the possible declaration of a “Redevelopment Zone” for areas of the downtown as well as the Stockton Borough Park so that the developers can be exempted from common zoning requirements in order to realize their “vision.” This “Redevelopment Zone” would be permanent and could at some point include eminent domain declarations.
Concerned residents created and maintain the Facebook group “Protect the Stockton Inn: Help Save Our River Town” https://www.facebook.com/groups/1231200030607441/ The group gained nearly 1,500 members in its first week, many of whom are from surrounding areas that will also be negatively impacted by this type of development.
To help get the word out, you can share the link to your Facebook timeline!
Where Will the Money Go?
We are seeking donations for a legal fund so that we can retain a land-use attorney to work with us to protect our town from this unreasonable development.
100% of the money donated will be used for expenses to fight this plan. No members of the “Protect Stockton” group are paid; all are volunteering.
If funds remain after expenses are paid, they will be donated to a local charity.
Transparency is very important to us. Updates about expenditures will be provided on this page.
A Brief History of the Stockton Inn:
The Stockton Inn was built in about 1710 as a private residence and was converted into one of the earliest taverns in New Jersey in 1796. It began operating as an inn in the early 1800s. It had been in operation since then as a bar, restaurant, and wedding/banquet venue until it was closed by the owner in 2017 and placed on the market.
Its storied history has included guests such as authors Dorothy Parker, Margaret Mitchell, and F. Scott Fitzgerald; actors Clark Gable and Helen Hayes; reporters covering the famed Lindbergh kidnapping trial; bandleader Paul Whiteman; and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The Inn and its famed wishing well inspired visitors Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart to compose “There’s a Small Hotel [with a wishing well]” for their 1936 Broadway musical On Your Toes.
The Colligan family owned and operated the Inn from 1920 to 1983. Between 1928 and 1935, they commissioned local artists and illustrators to create the murals that adorn the dining room with depictions of area scenes. Recent owners have renovated the kitchen, dining areas, and outdoor spaces, and the historic murals underwent an extensive restoration in 2015.
Please donate to our legal fund to stop developer Avon Road Partners from creating their “Vision for the Stockton Inn” and forever changing the borough of Stockton, New Jersey.
See Avon Road Partners’ video that outlines their plans here: https://vimeo.com/508151744 Password: StocktonInn1
Avon Road Partners’ “Vision” includes
· A 1000-seat outdoor amphitheater for 40+ concerts and events a year
· A 17,000-square-foot, 3-story building with 28 hotel rooms
· A 1,500-square-foot, 2-story connecting walkway to adjoin the existing Inn
with the new buildings
· Using the Stockton Borough Park to park 400 cars during events
· Having Stockton Borough declare the Inn properties and Stockton Borough
Park an “area in need of redevelopment” in order to loosen zoning restrictions
Why We Are Fighting This “Vision”:
We all want to have the Stockton Inn reopened as a restaurant/bar, hotel, and wedding and banquet venue. However, the plans for a concert amphitheater, massive addition, and proposal to park hundreds of cars in the public park are a serious concern for borough residents and would destroy our quiet river town’s charm and way of life.
Many residents are also distressed by the possible declaration of a “Redevelopment Zone” for areas of the downtown as well as the Stockton Borough Park so that the developers can be exempted from common zoning requirements in order to realize their “vision.” This “Redevelopment Zone” would be permanent and could at some point include eminent domain declarations.
Concerned residents created and maintain the Facebook group “Protect the Stockton Inn: Help Save Our River Town” https://www.facebook.com/groups/1231200030607441/ The group gained nearly 1,500 members in its first week, many of whom are from surrounding areas that will also be negatively impacted by this type of development.
To help get the word out, you can share the link to your Facebook timeline!
Where Will the Money Go?
We are seeking donations for a legal fund so that we can retain a land-use attorney to work with us to protect our town from this unreasonable development.
100% of the money donated will be used for expenses to fight this plan. No members of the “Protect Stockton” group are paid; all are volunteering.
If funds remain after expenses are paid, they will be donated to a local charity.
Transparency is very important to us. Updates about expenditures will be provided on this page.
A Brief History of the Stockton Inn:
The Stockton Inn was built in about 1710 as a private residence and was converted into one of the earliest taverns in New Jersey in 1796. It began operating as an inn in the early 1800s. It had been in operation since then as a bar, restaurant, and wedding/banquet venue until it was closed by the owner in 2017 and placed on the market.
Its storied history has included guests such as authors Dorothy Parker, Margaret Mitchell, and F. Scott Fitzgerald; actors Clark Gable and Helen Hayes; reporters covering the famed Lindbergh kidnapping trial; bandleader Paul Whiteman; and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The Inn and its famed wishing well inspired visitors Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart to compose “There’s a Small Hotel [with a wishing well]” for their 1936 Broadway musical On Your Toes.
The Colligan family owned and operated the Inn from 1920 to 1983. Between 1928 and 1935, they commissioned local artists and illustrators to create the murals that adorn the dining room with depictions of area scenes. Recent owners have renovated the kitchen, dining areas, and outdoor spaces, and the historic murals underwent an extensive restoration in 2015.
Organizer
Eileen Foley
Organizer
Stockton, NJ
