Township plans to close title on the Pennytown property in mid-October, the mayor said
By Reem Nasr, Special Writer
Hopewell Township has plans to demolish the buildings at the Pennytown site on Sept. 12, hopefully bringing an end to the issues raised at the Aug. 10 meeting of the Hopewell Township Committee.
A special meeting was held Monday night to update residents on what has been done about the concerns — rats, garbage, odors, open swimming pool, etc. — brought up by members of the Kiernan family, who live nearby.
Mayor Vanessa Sandom and Administrator/Engineer Paul Pogorzelski led the informal discussion with the residents, most of whom live near Marshall’s Corner.
Mr. Pogorzelski said demolition permits were filed about a month ago, but the construction official will not release them until the township ensures that all the power has been shut off in the buildings. He said he planned to meet with PSE&G on Tuesday to resolve that issue.
”The buildings are going to go, the pool is going to go. If I can get the issues with PSE&G squared away, presumably the pool and a couple of the outer buildings are going to get demolished pretty quickly,” said Mr. Pogorzelski.
Pennytown Shopping Village, as it was known for decades, now is abandoned commercial and office space, the abandoned Stage Depot motel and H.I. Rib & Co., a restaurant.
H.I. Rib & Co., is still in operation on the Route 31 side of the site. The restaurant has been at the site for 15 years now. Owner Chris Hiban said he did not notice any of the issues brought up by neighbors, except for the uncut grass.
”We are doing well and I haven’t seen any of these issues except for the grass,” said Mr. Hiban. “If there were any issues don’t you think I would be the first screaming and yelling?”
The restaurant is in its own free-standing building, which is maintained daily. With about 50 employees, the restaurant is a big part of the Hopewell Valley community.
”We are a big part of the community and we always give back,” said Mr. Hiban. “We are going to be here for a while serving the community and doing a good job.”
Mr. Hiban added that the restaurant has its own grass cut every week. He hoped that some resolution would come out of Monday’s meeting.
”Despite the negativity, this hasn’t affected us,” said Mr. Hiban. “We have a great staff and we are going to continue to do what we always do — serve the community.”
MR. POGORZELSKI said every building on the site has had a rodent inspection.
The scheduled demolition of the abandoned buildings on Sept. 12 would follow a Planning Board meeting on Sept. 10, at which the board is expected to review results of the “Preliminary Investigation of the Area in Need of Redevelopment.” Areas involved include Pennytown and two other nearby parcels — the vacant 84 Lumber site (18 acres) and 100 acres owned by Kooltronic.
It should take about three to four weeks to complete demolition. The township plans to close title on the Pennytown property in mid-October, according to Mayor Sandom.
Mr. Pogorzelski assured residents that grassy areas would be mowed with new equipment the township has acquired.
In order to have another rodent inspection, the township would have to ask the owner. Located on Route 31 between Routes 654 and 612, the 25-acre Pennytown site is owned by V.A.K. Center, Inc., of Pennington-Hopewell Road.
Hopewell Township is considering using the site for about 70 units of affordable housing.
Among new concerns raised by residents at the meeting were “severe safety issues.” One resident was afraid of scavengers entering the buildings’ open doors.
Another concern was that if the rodents were not removed before demolition, when the buildings come down the rats might run across the street into neighboring residences.
rnasr@centraljersey.com.