Demolition begins on snuff mill site Construction crews razing old warehouse, adjacent silos BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer JEFF GRANIT staff A backhoe knocks down a large warehouse building toward the rear of the snuff mill property in Helmetta yesterday morning. Workers began to demolish portions of Helmetta's snuff mill this week, the first physical sign of a years-in-the-making redevelopment project. This initial phase of demolition includes a large warehouse building that dates back more than a century, as well as the adjacent silos, according to Jason Kaplan of Kaplan Cos., the borough's chosen redeveloper. Yesterday morning, backhoes started to knock down the 25,000-square-foot warehouse known as Building M. The warehouse stood behind one of the main factory buildings along Main Street on the eastern, or Spotswood, side of the property. The one-story structure was used as a storage facility for the Helme Tobacco Co., which closed in 1993. The building was believed to date to the very early days of the operation in the late 1800s. The silos, which are relatively modern, were used either in the manufacturing of tobacco products or for storage of those products. Above: A worker walks among the remains of the warehouse building demolished yesterday. At right: Several silos surrounding the old warehouse are also part of the initial demolition. Kaplan obtained a permit for the current demolition from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He said permits for further demolition on some of the other mill buildings are pending. "There are three more buildings that are ready to come down that we're not going to use, but we still need the permits from the DEP," he said. Kaplan and borough officials are considering preserving some snuff mill buildings and reusing them. These include the larger buildings along Main Street. Portions of those sites are in a flood zone, and are the subject of a feasibility study to determine whether all or parts of them should be renovated for housing instead of cleared in favor of new construction, Kaplan said. The developer recently purchased the site from its previous owner, Helmetta Lenape LLC, and has proposed the construction of 225 age-restricted townhouses and condominiums, along with 10 affordable housing units, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a civic center for the borough. The development, for residents 55 and over, will be called Heritage at Helmetta. PHOTOSBYJEFF GRANIT staff Borough officials have long supported such a project largely because of the property tax revenue it is expected to bring in annually, without the expense of new schoolchildren. The current demolition process is expected to last about two to three weeks, Kaplan said. When permits are obtained, three other buildings, all located on a rear section of the site known as Parcel 1, will be razed to make room for an open space and recreational area that will be available to all Helmetta residents. This may include basketball and tennis courts. The borough's Redevelopment Committee will meet with Kaplan Companies next week to review the new concept plans presented by the developer, and to make decisions on what direction the site's redevelopment will take, Mayor Nancy Martin said. The updated plan is expected be introduced to the Borough Council at its Sept. 27 meeting. Martin noted that the plans will ultimately be reviewed at Planning Board meetings open to the public. "We are looking forward to moving this project [forward], and we are very happy with our selection of Kaplan Companies for this redevelopment," Martin said. Kaplan Companies hopes to break ground on the new development next year, and construction will then take two to five years, according to the developer's Web site. The snuff mill has sat inoperational for the past 13 years. Many of the buildings in the complex, including the one now being demolished, were erected during the late 1800s, and the mill is considered the main component of the borough's historic district by state and federal authorities. The town was named for the mill's original owner, George W. Helme, and his daughter Antoinette, who went by the name of Etta. Among other buildings in the town that are considered part of the historic district are the homes that were once built for mill workers, the mill store, the town's two churches, and the borough hall, which was originally a public school. The mill is on Preservation New Jersey's list of the "10 Most Endangered Historic Sites." The mill abuts the roughly 1,500 acres of the county-owned Jamesburg Park Conservation Area, as well as Helmetta Pond, which once served to power the snuff mill and is also considered part of the historic district. Joe Sapia, a Monroe resident with longstanding family ties in Helmetta, said he would have liked to see the mill taken over by Middlesex County so that it could be preserved and possibly used for a community, recreation and performing arts center. He speculated about the possibility of the district losing its historic status as a result of the redevelopment. "If you take away the mill, it's no longer a mill town. If you knock down the main component of that, what is the historic value," he asked. Kaplan has said the developer is "making a strong effort" to preserve portions of the mill so they can be incorporated into the redevelopment