Restoration and Rehabilitation
of Greenwood Gardens

Project Description

Greenwood Gardens is a 28-arce, formal Italianate garden oasis located in Short Hills, NJ, dating back to 1906.  The original mansion, terrace and gardens were designed by William W. Renwick, built by Rafael Gustavino and heavily adorned with wonderful arts and crafts ornamentations including a vast array of colorful Rookwood Tile.

To convert this private pleasure ground estate into an open-to-the-public garden conservancy, MPG was hired to complete a three-year, large scale construction and renovation project involving the rehabilitation of buildings and structures; whole site laser scan survey; conservation of historic objects and features; reconstruction of large, historic cast-in-place concrete site walls; upgrading site infrastructure, roads, parking and pathways; bringing new utility services into the site; renovating a detached garage into public restroom facilities; landscape improvements; hardscaping and site features; and upgrading mechanical, electrical and plumbing in the buildings.

In addition to MPG’s own masonry workforce, this specialty general contracting project involved more than 35 different subcontractors and vendors operating under the direct supervision and management of MPG as the single prime General Contractor.

The project was the recipient of a 2013 New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office Historic Preservation Award.