Hamilton Township to Acquire Long Vacant Property

HAMILTON, NJ – The Hamilton Township Council yesterday unanimously approved of the acquisition of the long vacant property at 1750 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road. The property which is known to have been the former home of ShopRite and Cost Cutter grocery stores has been vacant for well over 15 years.

“The acquisition of the former Whitehorse ShopRite property is another example of our Mayor and Council working together to redevelop properties that have been neglected and ignored for too long,” said Council President Rick Tighe.

The 8.4-acre property had been appraised at nearly 6.5 million dollars. The Township, looking to redevelop the vacant property for public use, and the sellers reached an agreement for the Township to purchase the property for a price of $700,000 with the remaining value of the property being donated to the Township. The deal is conditioned on the Township’s due diligence to identify potential or existing environmental contamination. At this time, the Township has not seen any evidence of environmental concerns. An additional $50,000 was approved by Council for due diligence and closing costs.

“I want to thank Council, the property owner and all those involved in coming up with a creative solution to a decades-old problem,” said Mayor Martin. “This now puts the Township in the driver’s seat on redeveloping the property. While we expect the deal to close by the end of the 2020, we want to hear directly from the residents on what they would like to see at the property.”

The Township is seeking input from residents on how they would like to see the property redeveloped. Residents may submit their suggestions in writing via email to Mayor@HamiltonNJ.com.

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