Historic Bell Labs Horn Antenna At Risk, Holmdel Citizens Group Says

HOLMDEL, NJ — Citizens for Informed Land Use, Preserve Holmdel and others are rallying to preserve the Bell Labs Horn Antenna, which they say is threatened if the 43-acre site it stands on is reclassified for residential development.

The property at 791 Holmdel Road is home to the Bell Labs Horn Antenna, once used by Bell Labs scientists Dr. Robert Wilson, who still lives in the township, and Dr. Arno Penzias, to study microwave radiation from beyond the Milky Way, the organization says.

The site is also described by the group "as the highest point in Monmouth County, providing remarkable views of Raritan Bay and Manhattan."

The scientists' "research confirmed evidence of the Big Bang Theory as the origin of the universe and earned both men a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978," the land use group said in a news release.

But on Nov. 22, the Township Committee approved a resolution directing the Planning Board to study whether the former Nokia site in the Crawford Hill section of Holmdel - the site of the Horn Antenna - should be reclassified as an "area in need of redevelopment."

A resolution is on the Dec. 6 Holmdel Planning Board agenda "directing the township's planner to prepare a study to determine whether a study area comprised of Block 27, Lots 6, 6.01 and 7 (the former Nokia site) is to be delineated as a Non-Condemnation Area in Need of Redevelopment."

The actions have set off alarm bells among the environmental community here, said Regina Criscione, co-president of Citizens for Informed Land Use, known as CILU.

Preserving this landmark of scientific discovery will be an issue not just for Holmdel, or even the United States, but " for scientists around the world," Criscione said. Karen Strickland is also co-president of the group.

Citizens for Informed Land Use is proactively working to preserve the site for open space to protect the Horn Antenna and the scientific history it represents, she added.

The property was sold by Nokia to Rakesh Antala, an area technology executive, in January of 2021 for $3.6 million, said Douglas Twyman of Colliers International, who handled the transaction.

Twyman said Saturday the site's zoning currently is restrictive, and may be zoned only for a research facility.

Although he said he is still involved with Antala on projects in other areas, he is not aware of any plans for the Holmdel site.

Twyman said Antala has said in the past he intends to preserve the Horn Antenna.

The site is an "irreplaceable piece of Holmdel's celebrated scientific history," as is the land it sits on, the CILU organization said in its statement.

It is now circulating a petition online to preserve the area and the landmark. Visit the organization's site for more information on the petition.

The land use organization said the Township Committee's resolution was described at the Nov. 22 meeting as "exploratory" and in "preliminary stages"

But CILU says the action "circumvents the conventional application process and suggests this site could be slated for high density housing in the near future."

In 1989, the Horn Antenna was named a National Historic Landmark. Harvard physicist and Nobel Laureate, Edward Purcell, said of the finding, "It just may be the most important thing anybody has ever seen," CILU said in its statement.

"If citizens can convince the town to reject residential development and set aside the 43-acre property, it could be preserved as both a valuable historic site and a desirable public park.

"While the Horn Antenna provides rich historical context, the site is also the highest point in Monmouth County, providing remarkable views of Raritan Bay and Manhattan along a potential network of hiking and walking trails," CILU said in its statement.

The resolution before the Planning Board Tuesday that would direct the Township's Planner to prepare the study is made "per the request and authorization of Holmdel Township Committee Resolution #2022-307, adopted November 22, 2022," the Planning Board agenda item says.

Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU) is a nonpartisan, Holmdel-based community group that has been working since 1998 to protect open space and natural resources in Holmdel, its website says.