Camden to get new park after demolition
Environmental cleanup has begun at the Parkade building site in Camden, New Jersey. Asbestos removal began in October, and if the work continues on schedule, the building should come down by next summer. The demolition has been in the works for over seven years, though it wasn’t until April 2008 that the buyout of Camden Redevelopment Agency’s lease was official. Almost 20 tenants had to be evicted as a condition of the sale, but it took several months before the Camden County Probation Office and its child support unit finally moved to a new location.
The cleanup also took longer than expected. Due to begin in the first quarter of this year, more asbestos was discovered than had been expected. This required more funding for the remediation. The Delaware Port Authority contributed $2 million to the $2.5 million in state grants the city already had. Asbestos abatement and environmental remediation should be completed by February 2010, with demolition taking another three or four months after that.
When the demolition is complete, the city plans to replace the building with a park named after the original Roosevelt Plaza, which was built using money and labor from the New Deal in 1936.
For the full story, go to Courier-Post.
