A nearly-complete building frame, an inner road network, and landscaping have popped up at the Village Center shopping center at the corner of Southfield Road and Route 571.
After a delay of several years due to contaminated fill, the property has finally been remediated and given a clean bill of health by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Among the tenants expected to move into the plaza are a PNC Bank, a CVS Pharmacy, the Learning Experience daycare center, and several small retail establishments. A sign on the property encourages interested businesses to call Egewood Properties, the develper, for leasing information.
According to Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, the developer wants to put the project on a fast track. “The last time they met with me, they really wanted to get something done as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, on May 3, the Township Council denied a request by Edgewood Properties for a reduction of performance guarantees for the project.
According to the council’s resolution, the performance guarantees are currently at 25 percent of the total estimated valued of site improvements. Edgewood posted a $259,677 bond in March, 2005.
A similar request was made by Edgewood on March 1, which Council also denied.
Edgewood had been waiting to receive a “no further action” letter from the DEP that would indicate the remediation is satisfactory and construction of the shopping center could begin.
Lawrence Ragonese, director of press information for the DEP, confirmed the DEP had inspected the site and issued a letter of No Further Action Required. The letter allowed the developer to obtain the interim partial permits from the township for the work, but “they are still going to have to bring in a licensed site remediation professional to do a final inspection, which then would lead the town to consider final approvals,” Ragonese said.
Construction at the 12-acre shopping center was shut down a few years ago after the DEP found that Ford Motor Co. and its contractor, Edgewood Properties, had shipped recycled concrete from the demolition of Ford’s former Edison assembly plant on Route 1 to various construction sites around the state, including the Village Center property. Tests later found the cement to contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Since then, DEP has allowed the developer to cap the site. That process involved removing some of the contaminated material, and then covering the property with roads, sidewalks, and slabs for the buildings.
