Hospital Plans to Demolish House at 6 Harris Road

The University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro will demolish the vacant home at 6 Harris Road, directly behind the former hospital site. 

The brick house sits atop a 550-gallon underground oil tank which previously had a leak, said Pam Hersh, UMCPP's vice president for government & community affairs. 

"Our consultants concluded that due to location of the tank, there’s no way to do this other than demolition (of the house)," Hersh said. "There are no particular problems, there is simply a leaky oil tank, period, the end."

The leaky tank was already a known issue and hospital officials previously reported it to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 

The issue was noted by David J. Volz, a licensed site remediation specialist with Sovereign Consulting in Cherry Hill, who was hired by Princeton Township in late 2012 to review possible environmental issues at the former hospital property

“To alleviate any concerns regarding the potential for adverse environmental or health effects, the applicant should provide the Board with an update on the status or remediation of soil and or groundwater at the 6 Harris Rd. property,” read part of Volz's Dec. 5 letter to Engineer Bob Kiser.

Volz also determined there was no evidence of contamination at the site. 

Hersh said all of the hospital's oil tanks (including 6 Harris Road) were drained when the hospital moved to Plainsboro last year. When the house is torn down and the tank removed, it will be done in strict accordance with DEP rules and regulations, she said. 

"When the tank is removed, obviously DEP has very strict, prescribed techniques for testing the soil," Hersh said. 

There is no date yet for demolition of the single family home, but Hersh said the plan is to have it happen sooner rather than later. 

"We were planning to notify the neighbors when we have a date," she said.