Demolition of historic Duke mansion put on hold

Demolition of a historic New Jersey mansion once owned by Doris Duke will temporarily be put on hold while the matter is reviewed by a state judge.

The Hillsborough Township Historic Preservation Commission approved the demolition plans last October, and town officials were set to issue a permit this week.

But the community group DORIS, for Demolition of Residence is Senseless, sought an injunction to block the work planned by the Duke Farms Foundation. And after a conference call Friday, it was agreed no demolition work would be done until a hearing planned for late February.

The foundation wants to demolish the 67,000-square-foot mansion that's been empty since the tobacco heiress' death in 1993. They say it has fallen into disrepair and would take at least $10 million to bring up to code.

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