Berkeley Gets Boost In State Grants For Beachwood Shopping Center Study

Berkeley Township, NJ - The state grant that the township has received to further explore just what lies underneath the Beachwood Shopping Center will be put to good use, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said.

"I am pleased that we will be receiving $712,380 in Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Funding, administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority along with a $275,000 grant from the State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation in Local Aid Infrastructure Funding." Mayor Amato said.

The money will be used to investigate "areas of concern" from previous studies.

The proposed Remedial Investigation (RI) will be done into two phases; the front portion, which consists of the former mall site. The second phase will focus on the back portion, the former South Brunswick Asphalt plant, the mayor said.

"This will enable the Township to get a full and complete picture of what is on the site, which will assist the redeveloper in remediation." Mayor Amato said.

T & M Associates, the Township Planners, will be doing the work associated with the HDSRF grant.

There was an environmental study done years back by former owner Priscilla Oughton and then-redeveloper Donato D’Onofrio. But it was a private study and the results have never been publicly released, officials have said.

The site is listed on the EPA’s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability System (CERCLIS). A preliminary assessment on the site was done in 1992. The private study by Oughton and D’Onofrio was also done.

Soil samples taken at the site in the past detected base neutral compounds, benzene, total petroleum hydrocarbons and metals, the mayor said.

The property is listed on the CERCLIS site as South Brunswick Asphalt. Priscilla Oughton’s father - the late James R. Johnson - owned South Brunswick Asphalt and built the shopping center back in the 1960s. He used the area behind the site for his asphalt operations.

"The $275,000 grant awarded from the State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation in Local Aid Infrastructure Fund, funded the work for the resurfacing of JFK Blvd and Atlantic Ave." Amato said.

"I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and her staff for their assistance in making sure Berkeley Township received this critical funding for this project," the mayor said. "With 271 miles of municipal roadways, JFK Boulevard was by far in the worse condition and needed to be resurfaced badly. This funding enabled this to occur and we are grateful."
Image: Patricia A. Miller