Berkeley Works To Make Historic School House Into Comm. Center

BERKELEY, NJ — Berkeley Township is working to make the historic Manitou Park School House into a community center. The Preserve New Jersey Historic Reservation Fund is set to award Berkeley a $656,537 grant for the structure.

The Township is waiting until the New Jersey Historic Trust officially approves the project and the legislature appropriates the funds. Then officials will come up with a timeline for the project, according to Mayor Carmen F. Amato.

Berkeley Township is entering a partnership with local nonprofit Homes for All, a workforce housing developer. Homes for All will continue working with the Township in providing additional workforce housing in the Manitou Park section.

The revenue generated from the partnership will fund Berkeley's efforts to restore the schoolhouse. Amato says no taxpayer funds will be used for the project except the initial soft-cost funding of a historic architect, needed to submit the grant application.

The one-room Manitou Park School House was built in 1929. It served the largest black community in Ocean County outside of Lakewood, according to New Jersey Historic Trust.

The grant recommendation, announced by the New Jersey Historic Trust Board, is among $11.9 million in grants anticipated to be approved Tuesday by the Garden State Preservation Trust. Read more: Berkeley's Manitou Park School House Set For $656K State Grant

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