Media
Release
CONTACT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kevin
Rabago
Office
of Development & Planning
(856)
451-3407
KELLY HOPES TO NAME
AGRI-GLOBAL REDEVELOPER FOR HISTORIC FERRACUTE SITE
Looking to merge the past
with the future, Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly will be asking City Council to
name the aqua-ponics firm Agri-Global, LLC as redeveloper for the historic
Ferracute property at the next City Council meeting following a developer’s
presentation at the May 6th work session.
Agri-Global, a Marlton NJ-
based firm headed by CEO Ron O’Neal focusing on aquaculture and hydroponics; is
set to make a presentation to City Council on a multi-phase project that will center
on fish farming, hydroponic farming for aquatic plants, processing,
distribution, and the creation of nearly 100 full-time jobs once the operation
is running at full capacity.
While Agri-Global employs sustainable technology in their approach to food and food markets; O’Neal and the Agri-Global team used that same “sustainable” ethos to guide their site-selection process which led them to view the historic Ferracute site as a worthy candidate for an adaptive reuse project.
“Knowing the history of
the Ferracute and having it be part of a redevelopment area, I believe the site
has great potential and with a historically sensitive renovation; I believe the
property can again be very productive for Bridgeton as it was decades ago” said
O’Neal.
In terms of the past, the
site was home to the Ferracute Machine Company, founded by inventor Oberlin
Smith in the late 19th century; the company was active up through the mid-20th
century until it shut down in the 1960’s. With few exceptions, the site has
largely been vacant since that time.
The Ferracute Machine
Company was known chiefly for manufacturing the presses used by the likes of Eastman
Kodak, Ford, and International Harvester to name a few. The company also
manufactured the presses that were shipped to England on an emergency basis to
replace ammunition abandoned at Dunkirk during World War II.
For Kelly, focusing on the
site makes sense not only because of the history, but also the City’s past efforts
on the property that include an environmental site investigation, completion of
a historic preservation plan, and most recently; City Council’s authorization of
a Request for Proposal to complete the remedial investigation on the property.
“I’m looking forward to
having this project before City Council for their review; I believe Agri-Global
is a good fit for the Ferracute property; they are sensitive to the historic
nature of the site and they see a lot of upside to investing in our community.
With an expansion of the ratable base and potentially dozens of jobs, I think
we have an opportunity and we should see what can be accomplished” said Kelly.
While a formal
redevelopment agreement would still need to be worked out separately at a later
date, the step of naming Agri-Global as redeveloper would be the first step in
allowing them to move forward on completing due-diligence for the project.
According to Kevin Rabago,
Director of the City’s Office of Development & Planning, naming a
redeveloper for the site would also give additional weight to future efforts by
the City to secure funding for Remedial Action through the State’s Hazardous
Discharge Site Remediation Fund.
“The Ferracute property
was at the center of meetings with the Brownfields Interagency Workgroup and
the Office of Planning Advocacy dating back to December. They are familiar with
the Agri-Global project and the Ferracute property and our State partners are supportive
of this approach toward an adaptive reuse” said Rabago.
While much remains to be
done and there are sure to be challenges along the way, Kelly believes it’s
important to establish a formal framework and a genuine partnership between
municipality and developer as a foundation for success.
“There are a number of
steps to be completed along the way and certainly challenges to getting to the
brick and mortar stage, but we’ve used this approach with other developers in
the past and it allows everyone involved to do the preliminary work that’s
necessary if we’re going to have a viable and successful project” Kelly said.
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