Completion expected by Sunday
By: Katie Wagner
MONTGOMERY Demolition of the former North Princeton Developmental Center is nearing completion and township professionals are preparing to take further steps toward planning the 256-acre site’s redevelopment.
As of Monday afternoon, 88 of the 92 buildings targeted for demolition had been taken down by the primary contractor, Brandenburg Industrial Services Co., township officials said.
"Right now, our goal is to get demolition work done by Sept. 2 and we are on schedule to do that," said Township Administrator Donato Nieman.
Some of the site’s buildings surround the Village Elementary School. Work on these structures, which included removal of potentially harmful asbestos from the buildings, their demolition and debris cleanup, was completed first, to ensure students would be able to use the buildings by the scheduled start date for the district’s schools, Mr. Nieman said.
School staff members have been in the school since July 31, he added, and classes should begin on Sept. 10, as scheduled.
"Since the project started, we’ve had no release of asbestos that required us to do anything," Mr. Nieman said. "They’ve (the Board of Education staff) been in there, no problem. From the work they were doing, there has never been an issue for us."
All asbestos removal from the buildings is subject to the Sept. 2 demolition deadline. The township, however, has a separate later deadline for completing removal of asbestos from steam pipes on the site, which it’s likely to meet, Mr. Nieman said.
How the site, named Skillman Village, will be developed and who will develop it are questions township officials and professionals are currently trying to answer.
Township Engineer Gail Smith said the township has a master plan with a concept plan for the site that includes a mixture of residential and non-residential uses. Housing is likely to be age restricted and the non-residential portions could be used for retail, recreational and educational purposes.
So far, the township has narrowed down the list of 14 developers that responded to a request for qualifications to eight. After the redevelopment plan is formally adopted, the township will ask these developers to submit redevelopment plan proposals.
Ms. Smith said the goal is to have the redevelopment master plan introduced and adopted by the Township Committee by the end of the year.
To keep the committee on track with achieving this goal, Ms. Smith and Township Planner Richard Coppola will be providing an overview of the redevelopment process at the Sept. 20 Township Committee meeting.
"The township felt that it was important to control the future of the property, since it’s the largest open piece of property in the center of the township," Ms. Smith said.
Representatives from the school district superintendent’s office and the school district administrator were unable to be reached for comment.

