Milford's future

My Turn By Reggie Cheong-Leen I am puzzled by the Milford Borough Council’s statement on the proposed new Library. A healthy main street is the most important symbol of a community’s economic health and local quality of life; and Milford Borough is the face of Pike County. Pike County’s population is projected to grow 104 percent from 2000 to 2030. If Milford is to keep up with the growth, the Milford commercial base must not only be allowed, but encouraged, to grow. Otherwise Pike residents will drive through Milford on their way to their favorite stores, and we will be left behind with nothing but empty storefronts. A world-class library will certainly satisfy the needs of our growth and bring people into Milford. Who benefits from the historic district ordinance that was enacted to see that the Borough kept its “historic, small-town, quaint appeal?” A town full of historic commercial buildings but empty of tenants is a ghost town. Buildings soon deteriorate. A prime example is The Tom Quick. Many towns, including our neighbors: East Stroudsburg and Hawley, are actively working on Main Street programs to revitalize their commercial districts. Successful businesses in commercial buildings will help keep the buildings maintained. Yet ordinances that keep growth and business away, just to keep Milford historic, small-town and quaint, will not. The more empty, run-down, foreclosed commercial buildings there are on Broad and Harford streets, the more property taxes Milford Borough residents will have to pay. This year, many Pike County townships are holding their taxes unchanged, yet Milford Borough is raising property taxes. The more empty commercial buildings there are in Milford, the faster residential property values go down. Keeping Milford “historic, small-town and quaint” is not benefiting Milford residents. The Milford Borough commercial district is a collection of 19 and 20th century buildings of various designs and age. There is no defining architectural style to Milford. So when a new building is “required” by the ordinance to be “inspired” by Milford, what style should it follow? Mr. Benton, the architect hired by the Borough Council, wants contemporary buildings to be sympathetic with the district’s historic character. First of all, that is oxymoronic; 21st century technology affords us better building materials. 21st century living also demands a different interior environment. Why build in the style of yesteryear when electricity was not invented and eco-energy efficiency was not a consideration? Second, the proposed library lot is surrounded by buildings from the late 19th century - are we to building something in the style of the late 19th century? Forest Hall was designed by Hunt and Hunt, the architectural firm that built Biltmore in Ashville North Carolina, and the base on which the Statue of Liberty stands. Forest Hall was built in the French Normandy style, of masonry construction with a slate roof; it provided commercial shops on the first floor, and classrooms for Yale’s Forestry School on the second and third floor. At that time, buildings next to Forest Hall were the Pinchot Homestead (the Milford Community House), a 2 1/2 story Greek Revival-style residence of wood frame construction; a 2 1/2 story vernacular residential building of wood frame construction; and the Dimmick House, a three-story Greek Revival-style building of brick construction. Would the current borough council have paid $8,700 to an outside architect to stipulate that the design of Forest Hall be changed to the Greek Revival-style of its neighbors, its height reduced to be more in line with its neighbors, its materials changed to wood frame or brick construction? Freezing Milford in the architectural style of the past, and at the same time forcing each building to meet costly 21st century building codes, makes it economically unfeasible. Wood-frame buildings with small windows neither satisfies businesses’ need for street exposure, nor accommodates our eco-friendly lifestyle of making ample use of natural light. There is no city more historic than Paris. I. M. Pei, a world famous architect, built his glass pyramid in the central courtyard of the Louvre. In the heart of Venice, Italy, you will find historic buildings with modern floor to ceiling glass shop windows on the street level, occupied by stores. As Paris and Venice prove, a community is not a collection of empty historic and quaint buildings. It has to be user-friendly, occupied and maintained by thriving businesses. Let us not forget that ordinances are not set in stone - when the new St. Patrick’s Church was recently built on East High and Fourth Street, the Borough Council gave variances when the height of the building and the required number of parking spaces did not meet the ordinances. Did the design of this new St. Patrick’s church reflect the historic character of its neighboring buildings? If the freezing of Milford in the past is not helping businesses, while taxes increase for and residential property values decrease because the commercial district is full of empty buildings, who are the ordinances protecting? A street by street listing of each commercial building with its age can be seen on the Web site: milfordpa.us - click on “BUSINESS” on the left menu, and click “MILFORD COMMERCIAL ZONE” at the bottom of the page. Reggie Cheong-Leen is the owner of Forest Hall and a former member of the borough planning commission.