Historic Mount St. Francis Convent

For generations, Ringwood has valued its natural landscapes, historic landmarks, and small-town character. This time, a major community asset has been lost to private development. The historic Mount St. Francis Convent, one of the most significant properties in the borough, is currently being converted into a private substance abuse treatment facility operated by Avatar Residential Detox Center.

What could have been preserved as a cultural and historical gateway between Ringwood Manor and the Skylands region is instead becoming a commercial enterprise with little connection to the community’s vision or needs.

A Site Rich in Ringwood History

The 92-acre estate off Sloatsburg Road is far more than just another parcel of land. The original granite mansion was built in the early 1860s as a private retreat for Edmund Miller, business partner of Abram Hewitt of Ringwood Manor.

In 1930, Miller’s grandson, former mayor and borough treasurer Norvin Hewitt Green, sold the property to the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for just $1. For the next 80 years it served as a convent and retirement home. The Sisters, whose namesake is the patron saint of the environment, hoped the property would ultimately be preserved for open space and conservation.

Instead, in 2015, the convent was sold to Tennessee-based American Addiction Centers (AAC) for $6.4 million. Their plan was to transform the historic site into a large inpatient treatment center. A massive redevelopment project was approved, including a 65,000-square-foot addition designed to house 150 beds.

Years of Stalled Construction

Although AAC began work on the property, progress quickly stalled. A steel frame for the addition went up, but little else happened. Financial troubles forced the company to abandon the project and list the property for sale. For years the site sat in limbo, an unfinished structure looming over Ringwood State Park.

In 2023, Avatar Residential Detox Center, a New Jersey-based treatment provider, purchased the property for $8.1 million, a steal! Construction has now resumed, and the long-delayed project is actively moving forward.

Under Avatar’s revised plan, the facility is being built with 95 beds instead of the originally proposed 150.  The historic façade of the mansion is slated to remain, but the overall use of the property is permanently changing, and the land, meant to be preserved for open space and conservation, is now in private hands.

A Failure of Leadership and Vision

The conversion of the Convent into a private detox center did not have to be the outcome.

With imagination and proactive leadership, the property could have been reimagined as a public asset:

• a historical and cultural center

• an environmental education hub

• preserved open space

• a community gathering place

When it became clear years ago that the AAC project was stalled, the Borough Council and Borough Manager should have stepped in to explore preservation options.

Viable alternatives existed, including:

• The New Jersey Green Acres Program

• Passaic County’s Open Space Program

• Partnerships with non-profits such as the Land Conservancy of New Jersey

Instead, no meaningful effort was made to secure the property for public use. Now that construction is underway under Avatar, that opportunity has been lost.

Part of a Larger Pattern

Unfortunately, this decision fits a familiar pattern in Ringwood.

The same Borough Council that allowed the convent to fall into private hands also spent nearly ten years pursuing an unpopular and ill-conceived plan to build high-density apartments on Skyline Drive as their “affordable housing solution.” Only after intense public pressure during an election year did they abandon the plan, effectively admitting they had wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.