Contractor in race to take down buildings before school resumes
By: Greg Forester
MONTGOMERY It has been full speed ahead for demolition work at the former North Princeton Developmental Center, with Brandenburg Industrial Services Co. personnel having already demolished 25 of 92 buildings tagged for removal.
With work having started on June 23, already 10 percent of the total square footage of structures slated to come down have been demolished at the 250-acre former state institution, according to Montgomery Mayor Cecilia Birge.
"While the first weeks typically see a slow pace, Brandenburg has come very well prepared and everything has been working smoothly," said Mayor Birge. "Both outside and inside the municipal building township staff are being very diligent in making sure Brandenburg is doing everything they’re supposed to do."
Brandenburg’s $5 million contract includes a provision to complete the demolition portion of the project prior to the first day of school in September, when children will return to the Village Elementary School, located in the heart of the site.
The summer work includes the removal of potentially harmful asbestos from the dilapidated buildings, followed by their demolition and removal of debris from the site.
The only hitches in the work have been a few false positives coming from dust-monitoring equipment, caused by high humidity and some of the other safety equipment being used on site, Mayor Birge said.
"The false positives in the equipment come from the weather, and the creation of water droplets from safety equipment wetting down the work surfaces," said Mayor Birge. "Brandenburg has indicated there haven’t been any asbestos released."
Representatives from JM Sorge, a firm hired by the township to oversee various stages of the work going on at the NPDC site, agreed the false alarms were nothing to be worried about.
"Right now there has been a lot of moisture in the air that tends to trigger our alarms, as they’re fairly sensitive," said Mr. Dagget. "We’re taking the filters and testing them for asbestos anyway, just to make sure."
Mr. Dagget said numerous inspectors have been on the site to check how everything is going, including officials from the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and state health officials.
"Everything has been going very smoothly, and if the weather keeps up like this everything will be fine," said Mr. Dagget. "It’s a project in motion."
Although Brandenburg crews have been taking down smaller structures throughout the site, they have broken the site up into four zones, with the goal of cleaning and demolishing structures in zones 1 and 2 first.
These zones surround the Village Elementary School, which was constructed on a parcel of land in the center of the site in the late 1990s.
The current work was made possible by Montgomery Township’s purchase of the site in December 2006, after it was closed down by the state.
Other firms are performing additional work on the site, including the removal of asbestos-laden steam pipes in above- and below-ground locations.
The summer demolition schedule was a result of the urging of the public following several workshops held by the township earlier in the year. Parents of Village Elementary students and other residents made it clear the asbestos work should not be performed with children present at the school.
Brandenburg is scheduled to put the finishing touches on the project after the Sept. 2 end date, performing the site restoration portion of the project.
This includes the removal of concrete foundations left over from demolition, filling in of any surface holes left by demolished buildings, and the reseeding of the demolition sites.

