Hollister Faced Engineering Challenges Developing Restaurant in Historic Mansion

MORRISTOWN, NJ—Hollister Construction Services recently completed the transformation of the historic Vail Mansion in downtown Morristown into Jockey Hollow, a new, four-part restaurant. Because of the building’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the construction project involved a highly complicated retrofit of the mansion, enabling celebrated chef/restaurateur Chris Cannon to realize his vision for the concept.

Built in 1917, the Vail Mansion was commissioned by Theodore N. Vail, the first president of AT&T, as an Italian Renaissance palazzo-style mansion to house his extensive collection of art and family inventions. Vail never actually lived in the building, and it later served as the Morristown town hall and police headquarters. The Residences at Vail Mansion, luxury condominiums with extensive amenities and below-grade parking, were wrapped around the mansion in a 2007 construction project.