Town gets less money in former police station sale

Maplewood will get less money from the sale of the former police headquarters property on Dunnell Road to compensate the buyer for additional environmental cleanup at the future site of an apartment building.

Township officials agreed last week to change the terms of the agreement between the town and JERC Partners XVIII, a subsidiary of Asbury-based developer J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc.

In October, the Township Committee voted to sell the property for $1.75 million. The township will net a little more than half of that amount, around $910,000, because of credits due to JERC.

The town had previously agreed to a $140,000 credit for providing four units of affordable housing at the site, and a maximum $500,000 credit for demolishing the building and remediating asbestos contamination. However, the $500,000 credit will jump to $700,000 due to some recent findings on the vacant property.

Environmental consultants for both sides discovered previously undetected ground contamination that JERC will be responsible for cleaning up, the township said.

JERC is contractually required to demolish the building. The township has done previous environmental work on the site, including the removal of two underground oil tanks.

The Township Committee voted in March to put $740,000 of the $910,000 toward this year’s $38.5 million municipal budget, Administrator Joseph F. Manning said Friday. The remaining $170,000 will go into reserve. 

Editor's Note: Read the full story in this week's News-Record. Hits newsstands Thursday, April 26.

— Philip Sean Curran