Mall’s final tenant ordered to leave

Judge gives Laundromat until Friday to vacate mall space

By:Rebecca Weltmann
   A judge has cleared the way for demolition of the Rustic Mall by ordering the last remaining store tenant to vacate the property by Friday.
   Mall owners have been trying to evict the tenants since April in order to demolish the building for the ongoing EPA Superfund cleanup of the former Federal Creosote plant, which left the cancer-causing creosote in soil when it closed in the 1960s.
   On Dec. 15, state Superior Court Judge Fred Kumpf in Somerville ruled that SpeedWash Laundromat, the last remaining store at the mall, would have two weeks to move out of the building.
   Manville Mayor Angelo Corradino said he is relieved that the Laundromat finally agreed to vacate the premises and that demolition could now move forward as scheduled.
   He added he wasn’t entirely sure as to when demolition would begin, but once Public Service Electric and Gas shuts off the rest of the power, the demolition can be completed and the cleanup can continue to its completion without interruption.
   "The faster it gets cleaned up, the faster we can get the property redeveloped," Mayor Corradino said. "With all the delays, the fear was that the EPA would pull out, and the fear was that if the EPA pulled out, they might not come back. Now, unless they run into problems or find more contamination to clean up that they hadn’t planned on cleaning up, I don’t see why the cleanup project shouldn’t be completed by February of 2008."
   Delays caused by improperly filled-out eviction notices have created a long negotiation process between the mall tenants and owners. Two weeks ago, the mall owners reached settlements with Manville Pizza and New Fortune Chinese Restaurant, which with the Laundromat had been fighting eviction since the April 30 deadline.
   SpeedWash Laundromat was the final tenant needed to leave the mall before demolition could be completed. John Lack, owner of the SpeedWash Laundromat, said he had been waiting for a reasonable offer from the settlement from the mall before he would move from his location in the Rustic Mall.
   A condemnation resolution was issued at a special meeting on Oct. 23 by the Borough Council, which authorized the borough to go ahead with the eminent domain process in the event the settlements could not be reached. Since all three tenants have agreed to vacate the premise, condemnation won’t be necessary and the next phase of demolition can go more quickly.
   Once the entire strip mall is vacated, the Rustic Mall LLC plans to level the building so the EPA can remove the creosote-contaminated soil beneath it. When the EPA finishes the cleanup, Rustic Mall LLC, the borough-named redeveloper, will rebuild on the site for mixed-use commercial, residential and retail purposes.
   As Mayor Corradino noted, the target date for the completion for the EPA cleanup project, including excavation and demobilization, is February 2008. After the cleanup is complete, the developer will need to present a site plan to the Planning Board before it can break ground.
   Mayor Corradino said he is unsure at this time what the entire project will cost, but hopes to see design plans before the Planning Board by the end of next year. The entire redevelopment project, he added, could take up to five years to complete.
   "I’m happy that everything is resolved and the cleanup is going to take place as scheduled," he said. "The cleanup has to take place for the health and welfare of the community, so I’m very relieved, and the township is very relieved, that things are moving forward at last."