Demolition of Downtown Princeton Hospital Site Postponed

The demolition of the hospital in downtown Princeton that was scheduled to begin Sept. 4 will likely begin the week of Sept. 15, officials said.

Demolition work is being delayed because more asbestos needs to be removed from the site. The internal inspection of an incinerator drain line also must be completed before the demolition begins, officials said.

The asbestos removal from the main hospital building is almost complete with the exception of the roof flashing. A contractor has begun the removal of the asbestos material related to the roof flashings.

The contractor is expected to finish removing and recycling items from inside the hospital buildings this week. So far 44 100-cubic-foot dumpsters full of recyclables have been removed from the site on Witherspoon Street.

An environmental firm has removed six underground fuel storage tanks and tank piping located on the property. Officials determined that soil remediation was necessary in the area where two of the tanks were located. A second round of testing at the excavated area was completed and benzo(a)pyrene was identified at a concentration above the NJDEP’s  residential standards. Test results showed that additional soil needs to be removed in the area where the eastern most tank was located.

Additional soil was removed, along with tank piping that was previously covered by stockpiled soil. After the removal and disposal of the items, a monitoring well was installed and sampled in accordance with NJDEP regulations, officials said. A sample from the monitoring well was taken today and test results will be available in two weeks.

PSE&G cut off the power to hospital buildings on Monday, Aug. 11th. Temporary power is being provided to some of the hospital buildings via the parking garage and generators.

A building permit has been issued to allow for repairs to be completed to the former hospital parking garage. The work is planned to start the week of Sept. 8th and is anticipated to take 10 to 11 months to complete. During this time the garage will remain open for limited parking.