ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP (10/26/09)—Aberdeen Township today announced that it has received $55,340 from The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Municipal Grant Program.
According to Aberdeen Township Manager Joseph Criscuolo, the funds will be used to help pay for environmental investigative work at a 1.34-acre Church Street site that was previously leased to Matawan Borough for a public works facility. The parcel is adjacent to the 13.86-acre former South River Metals property. As announced last week, with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) finally providing direction on the major components of the cleanup process on the larger South River Metals parcel, plans are moving forward to construct an affordable senior community on the two sites. As proposed, the complex will provide up to 198 senior apartments, along with a Township-wide senior recreation center and a passive outdoor recreation area. The project is being developed by a joint venture of PRC Group and Pennrose Properties.
“This grant represents yet another positive step in the effort to return these two sites to productive use as a complex that will meet the needs of seniors who want to remain in town in an affordable community providing a wide range of age-appropriate activities and amenities,” said Mayor David Sobel. “We look forward to seeing this project become a reality.”
The Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund is administered through a partnership between the NJ DEP and the Economic Development Authority (EDA). The DEP evaluates an applicant’s preliminary eligibility requirements, the technical merits of the proposed project, and the estimated project costs. Upon DEP approval, the EDA evaluates an applicant’s financial status, determines grant and/or loan eligibility, and awards funding. The program is open to businesses operating in New Jersey, an individual, or municipality that is required to, or volunteered to perform remediation and/or cleanup of contaminated and underutilized sites.
