Demolition crews worked from Saturday evening, March 7, through Monday night to tear down a privately owned vacant building at 19 Baldwin Ave., between Kennedy Boulevard East and Port Imperial Way.
According to Public Safety Director Jeff Welz, the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue department had extinguished a two-alarm fire at the building on Monday, March 2, at 9:30 p.m.
“The building has been vacant for several years, and it appears that the fire was started by vagrants or homeless who were occupying the basement,” said Welz. “No one was hurt and obviously, whoever was in there fled when the fire began.”
He added, “It is unclear if it was started accidentally after being set to keep warm, or if it was done intentionally.”
The township contacted the owner of the property, who lives in Englewood Cliffs. The owner hired a demolition company.
Due to the extensive damage that was caused by the fire, the building was deemed structurally unsafe by the town engineer, Welz said. Since it is on Baldwin Avenue, a high traffic area for cars going to and from the waterfront, the township decided to push for demolition.
According to Welz, the building was once a dye works and printing manufacturing company, but it has not been in use for at least 10 to 15 years. In the past couple of years, the town had raised concerns over the structural integrity of the building, and in the past, police had responded to break-in alarms, he said.
Baldwin Avenue will become five-lane road
While authorities continue to investigate the cause of the fire, the city hopes to negotiate with the owner to acquire the property. The township is also in the process of getting government grants to turn Baldwin Avenue into a five-lane road and redesign the intersection.
“There will be three lanes leading out and two lanes leading in connecting Boulevard East to Port Imperial Way, which will [help] expedite traffic in and out of the waterfront,” said Turner.
Funding
“We are hoping to get some stimulus money to purchase the property, and we should be moving forward [hopefully] in the next few months,” said Turner.
The road project has been in the works for about five years and will cost an estimated $8 million, which, according to Turner, will come from state and federal grants plus contributions from waterfront developers including Hartz Mountain Industries and Roseland Properties.
“The whole [roadway] will be revamped and modernized with wider lanes and a modern traffic system,” said Turner. “We are in the process of finalizing engineering plans and acquiring [the stimulus money].”
The township has applied for $1 million in federal stimulus money and is expecting an answer shortly.
Jessica Rosero may be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com.