The former National Vulcanized Fiber site, which accounts for around ten percent of Kennett Square, will have to undergo a lengthy decontamination process before a planned housing development can move forward, writes Brooke Schultz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Even with approval from state and federal environmental officials, the project would still require years of work and multiple municipal sign-offs before construction can even begin.
It also faces resistance from some borough residents who remain concerned about the safety of converting the former industrial site into housing.
“I think it’s the fact that we’re all feeling like this was guns a-blazing forward, and we would like to know that all the proper environmental steps are taken,” said resident Sarah Hardin.
At a town-hall meeting on Tuesday, officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection addressed resident concerns by outlining the cleanup process and the standards required before residential construction can move forward.
The event provided the latest update on plans to build 246 townhomes and 48 apartments on the long-stalled site that has been sitting undeveloped for almost 20 years.
Read more about the plans for the National Vulcanized Fiber site and its necessary decontamination in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Another NVF site in Delaware has undergone some renovations.
