He says it will be presented to council Nov. 10
A plan for the former Rustic Mall site will be described publicly on Nov. 10, Mayor Angelo Corradino said Monday in a statement.
The mayor, show is out of town, sent a message that was read at the end of the Borough Council meeting. It said: "After many months of negotiations with the owners of the former Rustic Mall, I am happy to announce that the redevelopment committee has decided unanimously to go with the plans submitted to the committee last week. The plans represent the mixed-use concept we were looking for as outlined in our redevelopment plan."
That was all the detail he provided. He said there will be a "courtesy presentation" to the Borough Council at its next meeting, which is Nov. 10.
He said the council won’t make decisions to approve the plan, but they fall to the Planning Board.
"Any recommendations that the Council wishes to make after the presentation can be submitted to the redevelopment committee for consideration and passed on to the planning board for their consideration."
He said the goal is for the proposal to go before the Planning Board in January.
During the 1960s homes and a commercial mall were built on land once occupied by Federal Creosote. It was subjected to federal cleanup and the EPA proposed in March to remove it from the Superfund list as a contaminated hazardous waste site.
Federal Creosote began using the site in 1919 treat railroad ties and poles with the chemical wood preservative. Operations stopped in 1956.
In the early 1960s, 137 single-family homes were built on 35 acres as part of the Claremont development. The remaining 15 acres were developed into the Rustic Mall, which has been removed. The site is now a fenced vacant lot.
The proposal was vetted through the borough redevelopment committee, which the mayor said is "a bi-partisan committee comprised of both parties and residents of this community. I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication in bringing this task to this juncture. I am looking forward to working with them to bring this to a successful conclusion."