It has been two months since fire ripped through the east attic of the Moorestown Community House. Luckily, the building sustained little damage and the community came together to help.
Since the fire, the MCH has been hard at work trying to get everything open and back up and running. The Sun went to the MCH to get an update on how things have been progressing. So far, parts of the MCH are open and being used, the water and smoke damage has been remediated and now it is on to repairing the roof.
The MCH board is asking for those who wish to help to donate toward its restoration campaign, which was in place long before the fire. The restoration campaign is seeking $2 million to help update the building so it can continue to be a non-profit center serving the community. So far it has raised $917,000.
“It is important for people to give to our restoration campaign, which was already in place before the fire, to update, restore and upgrade the building to be useable for the next generation and generations to come,” Executive Director Brad Kenney said.
The fire began on Nov. 17 in the second floor east room attic. The Moorestown Fire Department was quick to arrive on scene, along with many surrounding area fire departments, to squelch the two-alarm fire.
The departments were able to contain the fire to that room, making it the only area with fire damage. The rooms below sustained smoke and water damage, but other areas of the building, such as the ballroom and garden room, were unaffected.
The next day, repair companies were already at the MCH looking at damage and seeing what could be done.
Kenney wanted residents to know that the MCH Board of Trustees was very responsible to make sure there was adequate insurance coverage for the building, which covers the replacement of what was previously there before the fire, he said.
So far, the smoke and water damage to the lower rooms, the kitchen and the club room has been remediated, and the initial demolition of the areas affected has been completed as well. The roofing is being worked on, repairing holes made by the firefighting efforts and replacing the old slate roof.
“The goal is to reuse as much of our original slate as possible and have that part of the building look the same as it did before the fire,” Kenney said.
After the roof is sealed, the restoration will continue to other parts of the building. Recently-named board president Haynes Hendrickson said the restoration will be done in phases. The hope is to have each part open to the public and organizations as it is fixed.
“There is definitely thought in the planning to get this done ASAP, but we’re phasing it in so that we’re impacting as few people and organizations as possible that are relying on the building to be open,” Hendrickson said.
Other parts of the building, such as the ballroom, garden room, basement and pool, have been open and running so organizations and programs could still be held at the Community House.
“We worked very hard after the fire to get parts of our building that have been unaffected reopened,” Kenney said.
MCH plans to have an open board meeting on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the ballroom and invites anyone from the town to come hear about how the MCH is doing, how the fire restoration efforts are going and what other exciting things are coming up. Additionally, those who cannot make it are encouraged to reach out to Kenney and ask him for a tour to learn more.
“I invite the town to come here and see what is going on at the Community House … I’m always happy to greet the community and have them come see their building, and see how we’re doing with it and what our plans are,” Kenney said.
For more information on the restoration campaign, visit www.ourcommunityhouse.com. For more information on the MCH itself, go to www.thecommunityhouse.com. Kenney’s email is brad@thecommunityhouse.com.
