Prospective buyer explores brownfield cleanup at former dry cleaner site; $200,000 lien cited

Agency members told the Redevelopment Agency that a private buyer who recently acquired the former game-store property is exploring purchase of the adjacent former dry-cleaner site, which the agency said carries a lien of roughly $200,000 plus additional cleanup costs.

Members said the property is a brownfield site that the borough will not undertake to remediate directly; the prospective buyer has indicated interest in paying the lien and undertaking cleanup to allow a small redevelopment project on the parcel. Agency members said that if the private transaction and cleanup move forward, it would be a positive outcome because the borough would otherwise leave the property as-is while it remained on EPA lists.

No formal agreement, purchase price, remediation plan, or timeline was presented to the agency at the May 15 meeting. Agency members said the prospective buyer appears willing to consider the costs but provided no guarantees.

The agency did not take formal action; members characterized the discussion as an informational update and said they would monitor any filing or remediation proposal that comes forward.