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RiverWinds of change in West Deptford (Cont.)
"The area has built up so much with houses over the years, it'll be nice to have something to go to, something to do in your own back yard without going too far," says Hoffman, whose Lecato Avenue home is near the main entrance to the complex. Construction of this road began about a month ago.
TINA MARKOE/Courier-Post West Deptford Mayor David Shields shows a sketch vision of what this field could look like if the project succeeds.
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After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced plans to use the land as a primary disposal site for spoils from the dredging project, the township realized it stood to lose $750,000 a year paid in taxes by Tenneco. The company had leased the land to the corps in the 1960s as a spoils site.
Traces of heavy metals were found in the area but levels were well below state and federal cleanup standards. After this clean bill of health, the township cobbled together a complex purchase package to acquire the 1,100-acre tract.
West Deptford used $1.8 million from state open space preservation grants. The township purchased sections that will be permanently protected as open space with nearly $1 million it received as a settlement with users of the Helen Kramer Landfill in Mantua several years ago.
Township taxpayers will pay for 45 percent of the land acquisition through $2.8 million in long-term bonds that will add about $5 to the average annual tax bill in West Deptford.
But White and Shields expect leases and land sales with developers of various components of the project will offset the cost of operating the facilities and keep any tax impact minimal.
The township recently began construction of a four-lane road off Delaware Street that will lead to the cove area. Groundbreaking for a retirement community and assisted living center along Grove Road could take place this fall.
Shields and White hope these steps will allay developers' concerns the project is merely a pipe dream.
"This is no dream," Shields said. "This is reality."
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