Holmdel Will Move To Acquire Crawford Hill, Historic Antenna Site

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Township Committee will introduce an ordinance Tuesday authorizing good faith negotiations to acquire Crawford Hill - the site of the historic Horn antenna - for open space, recreation and historic preservation purposes, according to the committee agenda.

The ordinance comes after the committee in June ordered an appraisal of lots 6 and 6.01 at the property at 791 Holmdel Road, which is owned by a private company that envisions a housing development there. The appraisal included Lot 7 for easement purposes only.

The appraisal has come in at $1.97 million and will be accepted by the committee, according to the ordinance. The Township Committee will also authorize a $2 million bond ordinance Tuesday for the acquisition of the property, according to the agenda.

There will be a special meeting Aug. 22 for a second reading and public hearing on the ordinances.

The "bona fide" negotiations are required under the 1971 Eminent Domain Act, the ordinance notes.

Meanwhile, the owner of the property, Crawford Hill Holdings LLC, said last week that "the forcible government taking of the Crawford Hill property will likely cost Holmdel taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and force a significant increase in property taxes."

The owner, Rakesh Antala, said in a statement that the "special value that has been placed on the site will make appraising the property difficult and expensive."

The Horn antenna was used in research by Bell Labs physicists and is a National Historic Landmark.

The antenna's national significance arises from its use in the detection of cosmic microwave radiation that provided irrefutable evidence of the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe. In 1978, scientists Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias earned a Nobel Prize in Physics for this work.

A coalition of preservation groups in the township has been calling for the site to not be developed and remain open space, with the antenna's location untouched.

It notes that the Horn antenna must remain unmoved from its original position on what is the highest point in Monmouth County to preserve its landmark status. That is a position supported by the township in its proposed ordinance.

In a petition circulated by the preservation groups, thousands of people around the world have expressed support for the site's preservation, the coalition has said.

The entire 43-acre property was sold to Antala, an area technology executive, in January of 2021 for $3.6 million, according to the real estate professional who handled the transaction. Nokia had purchased the site from Bell Labs, and it is zoned for research facilities.

An area environmental activist, Kin Gee, said Monday that the appraisal is for 34.3 acres and does not include the research building on Lot 7. (Only an access easement on Lot 7, as stated in the ordinance, was included in the appraisal.)

"It is wonderful that Mayor (DJ) Luccarelli and the Township Committee heard the public voices to save the historic Horn antenna and to preserve the surrounding area as a public park. We applaud the steps that Mayor Luccarelli and the Holmdel Township Committee have taken to acquire the 34 acres, including the historic Horn Antenna associated with Lots 6 and 6.01 and preserve it as open space for the benefit of current and future generations of Holmdel residents," Gee said Monday.

As for the site's owner, Antala said: “How do you assess such a unique site that is home to the instrument that Nobel Prize-winning scientists used to assert the groundbreaking Big Bang Theory of the origins of the universe? What price do you put on that? $10 million? $20 million? $50 million?”

He said the Crawford Hill location adds to the site's value.

According to Crawford Hill Holdings: "Crawford Hill is one the most valuable and desirable properties in Monmouth County located in the middle of one of the most affluent Holmdel Township neighborhoods. Besides being highly accessible, it is the highest point of Monmouth County providing remarkable views of Raritan Bay and Manhattan," the developer said.

But in the proposed ordinance, the township asserts its rights in the matter:

"The Township is authorized to acquire land and premises that are necessary for maintaining open space and enhancing recreational opportunities by condemnation. All condemnations in New Jersey are procedurally governed by the Eminent Domain Act of 1971, and as a condition precedent to a condemnation, the Act requires the Township to engage in bona fide negotiations with the prospective condemnee, which negotiations shall be based upon an appraisal," the ordinance states.

In the ordinance, the committee refers to its Master Plan Re-examination Report of March 2020 that reincorporated the terms of the 2004 Master Plan and a 2010 Master Plan Re-examination. It calls for the protection of "natural resources to the greatest extent feasible” and “protecting the visual quality of scenic corridors throughout Holmdel, particularly vistas of open space, natural features, farmland, and historic sites.”

According to the proposed ordinance, the Township Committee makes the following findings:

• The Township Committee desires to acquire the Crawford Hill Property for open space, recreation, and historic preservation purposes.
• The Township Committee notes that the Crawford Hill Property is uniquely suited for open space, recreation, and historic preservation purposes as it includes a peak that constitutes the highest point in Monmouth County and houses the Horn Antenna, a National Historic Landmark.
• The township has received a ground swelling of public support for preservation of the Crawford Hill Property at meetings of the Township Committee, through electronic submissions, and other outreach from residents.
• The Township Committee finds that acquisition of the Crawford Hill Property for open space, recreation, and historic preservation purposes is consistent with its current Master Plan.
• The Township Committee finds that acquisition of the Crawford Hill Property is consistent with the 2019 recommendation of the Holmdel Environmental Commission specifically enumerating this property for acquisition.
• In addition to the Crawford Hill Property, the township further seeks to obtain an easement interest in the rights of way traversing Block 27, Lot 7 that provide access to the Crawford Hill Property. (Lot 7 includes the former Nokia building and an area on Holmdel Road).

The owner said: "We want nothing more than to have honest negotiations with the town officials and open-minded residents - based on facts not fear. We are more than willing to work in good faith as before and develop alternate options where the Horn antenna is preserved and open space is maintained,” Antala said.

By way of some history, the ordinance notes that in the November 2021 general election, Holmdel voters approved an increase in the annual collection rate to the Holmdel Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, Farmland, and Historic Preservation Trust Fund to the amount of $0.035 per $100 of assessed property valuation.

The committee authorized the use of trust funds for “acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes” and “historic preservation of historic properties, structures, facilities, sites, areas, or objects, and the acquisition of such properties, structures, facilities, sites, areas, or objects for historic preservation purposes,” the ordinance notes.

On Dec. 18, 2019, the Holmdel Environmental Commission, prepared a list of “Open Space Preservation Recommendations,” which included the property located at 791 Holmdel Road, commonly known as Crawford Hill property, the ordinance notes.

Regarding the acquisition, Kin Gee also said Monday: "The worldwide community of physicists and cosmologists is also grateful to the Township Committee for these important steps.

"As mentioned by Info Age Museum's Fred Carl in the June meeting, author Brian Keating wrote in his book, 'Losing the Nobel Prize,': 'The Holmdel Horn Antenna is “experimental art, a scientific sculpture as cosmically crucial as Stonehenge. It represents the triumph of generosity over greed, courage over fear, persistence over pride. To me, Holmdel is hallowed ground: mankind’s most tangible monument to the quest to understand the cosmos.” ' "