Lucy the Elephant Visitors Center original concept plan.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Lucy the Elephant wants to be a good neighbor. The Save Lucy Committee has revised its ambitious building plan to alleviate concerns of property owners at the Ivory Beach Condominium on S. Washington Avenue, who feared the new visitors center would block their view of the historic structure.
Representatives of the Ivory Beach Condominium Association expressed their concerns during a required public hearing on the plan to build a welcome center next to Lucy in Josephine Harron Park, which would have partially blocked the view of some units. The association sent a letter of objection outlining concerns to the NJ Historic Trust.
According to Save Lucy Committee Executive Director Richard Helfant, Lucy architect Thomas Sykes of SOSH Architects met with the architect of Ivory Beach to review the plan and revise it to everyone’s satisfaction. Helfant said the new visitor center building would be moved back and made smaller to accommodate Lucy’s neighbors.
“We are now all on the same page, and the revised plans will be submitted to the state for final approval,” Helfant said.
The change sites the building on the landward side of CAFRA’s Costal A Zone, which will allow the building to be erected 2 feet lower than originally proposed. The original plan would have been erected 6.5 feet above grade, but the revision puts the building 4.5 feet above grade.
“The building will be a bit smaller but maintains what we need to accomplish our goals for Lucy,” Helfant said.
Lucy the Elephant restoration project unveiled in December 2022.
The Margate Board of Commissioners in January approved the committee’s plans to demolish the Lucy Gift Shop, which no longer meets Lucy’s needs, and replace it with a new ADA-compliant two-story building, which will include more retail space, an interpretive center, meeting room on the second floor, restrooms, storage space, handicapped access ramp and an elevator. The historic Train Station building will be moved to another corner of the park to display railroad memorabilia. The snack bar may also be relocated elsewhere.
“We will lose a little storage space on the second floor and the administrative offices and retail space will be smaller, but still larger than we have now,” Helfant said.
Ivory Beach has agreed to rescind its letter of objection once the new plans are finalized.
“We want to be good neighbors, but we want to get this done for Lucy,” he said.
After new architectural drawings are approved by the powers that be, including Ivory Beach and various historic funding agencies, the next step is to create the drawings needed to go out to bid for the project. Helfant said shrinking the size of the building also reduced the estimated building costs to below $5 million.
“We promised the city and ourselves that we will not go out to bid until we have all the funding secured,” he said.
At a courtesy presentation to the Margate Planning Board, Helfant said the Save Lucy Committee plans to contribute $1 million toward the building project. He hopes the remainder of the cost will be funded through grants secured from federal and state historic organizations. Although the Save Lucy Committee has never asked the city for money to maintain Lucy, Helfant said, “the city recognizes it’s their greatest asset,” and he hopes the city will fund a portion of the cost. The Save Lucy Committee is also soliciting private donations for the project.
“It’s a lot of money, but not a lot in the scheme of today’s world,” Helfant said.
The building project will take two years to complete, but Lucy will remain open for tours during the process. Helfant said he hopes to start building in September, but approvals may delay it somewhat.
“We will use temporary structures where we can, but we cannot afford to shut her down,” he said.
Approximately 132,000 people visit Lucy every year.
“This project will get Lucy to where she needs to be on the world stage,” Helfant said.
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Margate to move forward with Lucy the Elephant welcome center plan
