Hekemian Says Still Ready To Close; City Still Cleaning Out The Garage

The closing deadline to sell the municipal garage may have passed, but the story is far from over, with the city and the buyer accusing each other of breaching the contract. 

City Council decided to terminate the contract with Hekemian on Tuesday during an emergency council meeting, claiming that Hekemian was in breach of contract and hindering the city from getting the state Department of Environmental Protection's "no further action" letter. 

But, on Friday morning, Hekemian sent the city a letter, stating that in fact the city was in breach and they were ready to close the $25.5 million deal at 11 a.m.

The city is currently emptying out the municipal garage on Observer Highway, to get ready for a 4 p.m. tour for local press, according to Director of Environmental Services Jennifer Maier. 

The original deadline to move out of the garage was noon Friday, when the city was supposed to close the deal with development firm S. Hekemian Group. 

Mayor Dawn Zimmer spent the day in Trenton Thursday, visiting with the DEP to get the letter as soon as possible.

According to Corporation Counsel Michael Kates,  the city's development attorney, Gordon Litwin, sent a letter Friday responding to the developer's claim that it was ready to close.

Maier said that municipal garage workers have been emptying and cleaning the garage since 5 a.m. on Friday and all night until midnight on Thursday. 

Although many of those workers will be laid off by the city, Maier said that they were still working hard to empty the garage. 

Stay tuned for more updates on this issue.