Developer nixes mill deal

Future again uncertain for Roebling site

By: Stephanie Prokop
   FLORENCE — Preferred Real Estate, of Conshohocken, Pa., has decided not to go any further on the proposed $2.5 million deal to redevelop a 170-acre portion of the old Roebling Steel Mill site, said Mayor Michael Muchowski on Wednesday.
   "They were given the 90-day due-diligence period, and it’s unfortunate and disappointing," he said. "But fortunately, the EPA has continued with the cleanup, so with the passing of time, the value of the site only increases."
   Township Councilwoman Elizabeth Ryan said the township received a letter late Monday evening that stated the developer had decided not to proceed with the deal.
   Township Council members signed a sales agreement in January, which gave the development company a 90-day period to further inspect the site. That 90-day time period ended Monday.
   Township Administrator Richard Brook said Preferred Real Estate stated it could not meet the timelines set forth by the EPA from the initial investigation of the property, and that the environmental contamination played a big part in why it decided to back out.
   In his letter to the mayor, Kevin Traynor, executive vice president of Preferred Real Estate, states "our whole team remains very committed to working together to figure out a way forward."
   The mill once employed thousands of immigrant workers who lived in the surrounding village of Roebling. When the steel mill closed in 1974, it was declared a Superfund site, and since 1986, the EPA has spent $46 million cleaning up the area.
   If the township and Preferred Real Estate had finalized the deal, the township would have received $2.5 million. In place of property taxes, the developer would have paid an annual administrative fee to the township, beginning at $50,000 and increasing over time.
   Mr. Brook did say that the letter indicated that Preferred Real Estate expressed interest in "discussing possible future involvement with the project," although it did not go into specifics.
   George Lengel, vice president of the Roebling Historical Society, said he was disappointed in Preferred Real Estate’s timing, and was "a bit confused" because he thought the company knew what it was getting into.
   He also stated he, along with many other Roebling residents, are still hopeful about the site’s revitalization.
   "It’s a very marketable piece of property, and the EPA has been working hard at cleaning it up," said Mr. Lengel. "We’ve been very resilient with this site, because there have been other offers that have come through and back out."
   Timing is the reason the council and community members are frustrated with the development firm, Mr. Brook said.
   "We made overtures to them in February to sit down and review with all parties concerned," said Mr. Brook. "(More) communication would have helped, so we would have known as a municipality the problems as they came along."
   "This was a very well respected company that had worked with Superfund sites before," said Mr. Lengel. "I thought they entered into this project with their eyes wide open," he added.
   Even though the plans for the old steel mill’s redevelopment are now halted, Mr. Lengel said, the plans to put a museum at the old steel mill’s entrance are still "full steam ahead," and that placed several items already have been placed in the sculpture garden (near the entrance gates).