The silver and green aluminum-clad diner on Route 1 near the corner of Bakers Basin Road in Lawrence has been known as Calhoun, Cass, Giordano and Ben’s over the last 50 years.

It is one of only five surviving diners built by the Mountain View Diner Co., the Little Falls company that pledged its wares would “last a lifetime.”

But this diner will have to live on somewhere else.

The diner site is included in a 16-acre redevelopment project owned by SSL Realty Holding and developer Bill Hotz has offered up ownership of the half-century-old diner to anyone who can remove it to another location.

The project would transform the site of Mrs. G TV & Appliances and the surrounding area into the new Lawrence Commons shopping center. The plan, which the Lawrence zoning board approved in May, includes a TD Bank, Wawa gas station and convenience store and a brand new Mrs. G location and showroom.

In 2001, the state Historic Preservation Office ruled that the diner was eligible for the state and National Register of Historic Places, according to Janice Armstrong, Preservation New Jersey program director.

But the diner is unlikely to make the list anytime soon, Armstrong said, leaving demolition as an option. A nomination process would have to be completed.

“The Historic Preservation says it’s historically significant and it could be listed on the National Register. But I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Armstrong said. “If someone doesn’t buy it quickly, then it’s gone,” she said.

Hotz, Mrs. G President Debbie Schaeffer and Lawrence township officials did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

Since Wednesday, Armstrong has alerted history buffs and interested restaurateurs to the diner’s plight and said at least one person had expressed interest in moving and taking control of the diner.

According to the Historic Preservation Office report, the Route 1 diner was the only surviving Mountain View Co. diner in central New Jersey and one of only five in the state.

Most of its original ceiling, diner counter and stools still remained, said Dorothy Guzzo, former historic preservation deputy officer. A rear addition to the diner could easily be removed if the structure were preserved, she said.

“The diner interior, although altered, clearly conveys the historic character of the diner,” Guzzo said.

The diner was originally located on Calhoun Street in Trenton, the street it was originally named after, and relocated to the Route 1 site in the 1960s. Shortly thereafter, it was renamed the Cass Diner, then the Giordano Diner and then simply as Ben’s Diner.

It’s not the first time buildings have been offered for free to make way for development: Earlier this year, Princeton University offered up homes along University Place and Alexander Street to anyone who could move them.

When no one came forward, the homes were demolished.

Contact Mike Davis at (609) 989-5708 or mdavis@njtimes.com.

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