Redeveloper Michael Pasquarello plans new use for Boxwood Hall in Haddonfield

HADDONFIELD — A local restaurateur just bought two houses here for a mere $200,000.

What's the catch?

That bargain price is just the start of a costly challenge for Michael Pasquarello, who wants to redevelop Boxwood Hall, a historic but dilapidated and long-vacant building at 65 Haddon Avenue.

The project also would restore a smaller, but no less rundown, house behind Boxwood Hall.

Pasquarello, who runs Cafe Lift in the borough's business district, wants to create a 10-room hotel at Boxwood Hall. He envisions a small restaurant in the adjacent building.

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"We're hoping that people come from all over the place to experience Haddonfield," he said at a press conference Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore it back to its original stature and to follow the historic code," he said of Boxwood Hall, an 18th Century building.

Pasquarello said the renovated building also would have "the interior comforts and modern amenities that someone would need in order to stay here."

The borough commission approved the sale to Pasquarello's firm, R&S Boxwood Hospitality LLC, on April 8.

"This is a wonderful outcome for our borough," said Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich.

However, a borough statement noted Pasquarello's bid was one of only two received for the 1.5-acre site's redevelopment.

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That reflected "the complex and costly realities of rehabilitating the property," it said.

Boxwood Hall, built in 1799, was a family home until 1965, when it was sold for use as office space.

The building and a smoke house on the property are on the state and national Register of Historic Structures.

The borough purchased the property for $1.8 million a decade ago to settle litigation over a 33-unit affordable-housing proposal for the site.

Since that time, it's struggled to find a use for the buildings, which have become targets for vandals.

A local group then proposed using the site for theater and gallery space, but faced opposition from neighbors, according to an account provided by the borough.

A plan to build a five-home building on the site also fell through.

Under the sale's conditions, Pasquarello would have 90 days to perform due diligence and one year to obtain required approvals.

He said a timeline and estimated cost for the project were not yet firm.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Redeveloper Michael Pasquarello plans new use for Boxwood Hall in Haddonfield