The John W. Rea House, built in 1810, entered the State and National Register of Historic Places in 1999, and in 2002 it was listed as a contributing resource to the designation of Goffle Brook Park.
CCH was tasked to restore and adapt the former house into a new arts center serving the County. The lower level provides comfort stations for the adjacent Olmstead designed park. All floors were made accessible through the addition of a new LULA lift and the building was provided with completely new building systems. Exterior restoration consisted of new wood replacement windows, new doors, stone repairs and repointing. Missing historical elements such as shutters and railings were replicated from historic documentation.
New brick footpaths, site benches landscaping were installed. Plantings include new trees, shrubbery, ground cover and flowering vegetation. Dense shrubbery was provided to screen mechanical equipment along the North side of the property. Along the new brick pathways new pole mounted lights were added. The Rea House’s front yard during the 1930’s was bounded by a low stucco garden wall. This project reconstructed the wall to provide opportunities for signage without detracting from the recently restored structure.
