City using $7M grant to breathe new life into 2 historic buildings

Trenton will use $7 million in state grant funds to rehabilitate two historic properties in the city – the Eagle Tavern and the Roebling Machine Shop.

The money is from an Urban Investment Fund Grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Mayor Reed Gusciora and city officials will announce the grant and plans for the two structures on Friday morning at the machine shop.

Both buildings are city-owned, on the National Register of Historic Places and have been renovated or refurbished in the past for different uses or intended plans.

On Thursday, Gusciora said the plan is to split the grant and allocate $3.5 million for each building.

The machine shop, at 675 South Clinton Ave., is one of the remaining buildings of the John A. Roebling’s Sons Company, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge and steel cable supplier to the Golden Gate Bridge.

It is also known as the Roebling Wireworks Building and was constructed in 1890.

The building has been the site of Artworks’ Art All Night Festival and currently hosts nonprofit organizations, including the indoor Freedom Skate Park and the Trenton Circus Squad.

The city envisions more community program space. But first, the roof and windows need to be replaced and the large structure needs a better kitchen and HVAC system, Gusciora said.

“We can’t have quality programming until that is taken care of,” the mayor said.

Overall, the Roebling project is estimated at $14 million, Gusciora said.

The Eagle Tavern is older than the country, having been built in 1765 as a private house. It remains one of the city’s oldest structures and has long been tied to numerous city redevelopment ideas and dreams.

It is also an endangered historic site too, twice making Preservation New Jersey’s Top 10 list.

Also known as the Old Eagle Tavern and located at 431-433 South Broad St. at Ferry Street, Gusciora said it really should be in private ownership.

Several prior parties were scared off from reopening it as a restaurant or tavern due to costly renovations, he said. (As a state legislator, Gusciora himself sponsored a bill to allow municipalities to issue liquor licenses to buyers looking to redevelop historic taverns.)

“It’s always been a funding issue,” Gusciora said.

Now, the city plans to repair and renovate it in hopes of attracting a vendor, as a restaurant, or even a city visitors center. The total project is estimated at $4 million, so the grant money gets the city very close to the finish line.

“It’s a beautiful facility and the bones are there, and we’d love someone to come in and reimagine it,” Gusciora said.

Despite being vacant for decades at a time, the Eagle has survived.

After being a house, the Eagle opened as a tavern in 1817, then became a boarding house in 1890. A Morrisville, Pa., man bought it in 1942 but soon sold it after he was unable to get a liquor license. It returned to be a residence, as an apartment house, then sat vacant until the city bought it in 1965.

Following renovations, the tavern reopened in 1980 as a restaurant but closed, reopened and closed again. Its last run was from 1988 to 1992, when it shut its doors after several break-ins and a failure to turn a profit.

In 2003, the city spent more than $700,000 on a new roof, windows, chimneys, front porch and brick work, again with the hopes of attracting potential buyers.

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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com