The Army Corp of Engineers will postpone their decision on the location of a $22 million, 53,300 square-foot Army Reserve training facility on Cross Keys and Kearsley roads in Gloucester Township, New Jersey until late October of this year according to the Army Corp of Engineers project manager, Kevin Jasper.
The construction of the 11-acre complex would comply with the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or BRAC. The Army’s plan for the facility includes a training facility, storage space, and vehicle repair shops. The base would hold six Army Reserve units and one National Guard unit during the weekends. The Army originally planned to make a final decision on the facility’s location in early September of this year. However, when residents voiced their concerns at a public hearing in August, the Army postponed their decision. According to Jasper, “We are continuing to evaluate resident’s comments in order to come to a final decision.”
The proposed site in Gloucester Township is currently zoned for commercial use. Residents claim that the township would loose potential property tax rateables by selling the land to the Army. Gloucester Township Mayor Cindy Rau Hatton said in a July 17, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer article that, “They haven’t even had a discussion with us about this.”
Kenneth Kinkopf, a resident of Winslow Township, believes that the facility would positively impact the Cross Keys Road corridor. Kinkopf said, “Since I owned a Quiznos in Mays Landing, one of the greatest sources of income was from the military base. Personnel visited the location steadily and often ordered large delivery orders till closing.”
A location on the Winslow Township side of Cross Keys and Kearsley roads remains an alternative location for the facility according to Jasper. Jasper added, “After we make a decision on the location we plan to advertise and award a contract in November, and then we will begin construction in December or early January.”
[...] training facility on Cross Keys and Kearsley roads for a third time this year. The Cross Keys Scene reported on Oct., 17 of this year that the Army had planned to make a final decision on the facility’s [...]