Potential developers will be asked to explore the potential of moving the house in order to develop the area.
History buffs in town can breathe slightly easier with the amended redevelopment plan township council recently adopted that includes the historic Stokes-Evans House on Main Street.
With a 24-unit apartment complex nearing completion next door to the house, and other areas of Main Street and South Maple Avenue already being redeveloped or in talks for redevelopment, some in town had begun to worry about the historic brick structure.
However, with the newly amended redevelopment plan, township officials are requesting any potential, future developer of the property move the mansion about 100 feet closer to Main Street before developing the area. Presently, the building is set back 125 feet from the sidewalk on Main Street.
Township director of community development Nancy Jamanow said while the plan could apply to any potential developer, the township has already been in talks for the area with MJ Associates, which has been building the new apartment complex next door.
“They’re the ones that have expressed interest,” Jamanow said.
Jamanow also said that once moved, township officials are hoping to use the bottom floor for a yet-to-be-determined public purpose, with the second floor of the house designated as two affordable apartment units.
According to Jamanow, such a plan would still fall in line with the building’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places, yet officials have yet to make a final decision about the building’s final use.
The historic Stokes-Evans House dates to 1842 when prominent area merchant Isaac Stokes had the home built for his retirement. Three other prominent Quaker citizens of Marlton also occupied the building throughout the years, including former state Assemblyman Ezra Evans and Henry and Mark Lippincott.
More recently in township history, the property became known as the “Harvest House” in the 1970s for Harvest House Mansion Fine Furniture store that occupied the building from then on for nearly five decades.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
According to the amended redevelopment plan, the area Marlton Village/Main Street is one of the focal points in the township’s 2020 Vision Plan, with the goal to make the area “a more vibrant destination with civic gathering places and an inviting mix of shops, restaurants and services along a pedestrian-friendly streetscape.”
At its next meeting on Aug. 9, council is set to consider further redevelopment plans for another area along Main Street, including a service garage, single-family home, restaurant, office building, preschool and church.
According to the amended redevelopment plan that now includes the Stokes-Evans/Harvest House building, a majority of residents who participated in the township’s workshops in 2009 and 2010 related to the 2020 Vision Plan had a preference for look and feel of “mixed use buildings with historic architectural details” for the Marlton Village and Main Street area, as opposed to “more modern building types.”
