Abington Township commissioner Matt Vahey announced today that the demolition of the SPS Technologies building in Jenkintown “is moving quickly and is ahead of schedule.”
“Above grade demo should be substantially complete by the fall,” Vahey wrote, noting that “SPS is interested in rebuilding on the site.”
His memo continues:
Township staff and I continue to discuss the development process with SPS leadership, and I will share more information as details take shape. If SPS choses to proceed at the existing site, I expect the new structure to have a smaller footprint, and it will be built to modern standards. Please note that SPS has not yet submitted any plans for township consideration. I do not yet have a timeline for next steps.
In May, residents submitted a letter encouraging Abington Township officials to consider a different path forward regarding the potential rebuild of the facility.
An excerpt:
According to Montgomery County property records and discussions with members of the Township Board of Commissioners, SPS pays approximately $23,000 in township property taxes and $145,000 in school taxes annually on its 31.74 acre property.14 In addition, under the Local Tax Enabling Act, SPS Technologies is exempt from and pays no local business taxes because it operates as a manufacturing business. If the SPS property were to be used for another purpose, the financial impact on residents’ taxes could be minimal, and other uses for the property have the potential to significantly increase the Township’s tax base. A township commissioner has stated that taxes will not be raised on account of SPS not rebuilding, should they choose to do so.
In late April, Glenside Local interviewed Glenside Fresh Start, an awareness organization which launched a Change.org petition titled “PREVENT Rebuilding of SPS Technologies in Abington, PA” on April 13.
SPS announced in May that an “Above grade” demolition phase will continue through September, at which point the “Below grade phase” will begin and continue through November. A partial demolition began on February 20, three days after the fire broke out. You can watch CBS’ coverage of the initial demolition below:
According to SPS’s website, monitoring results “remain stable with no detections of chemicals or other parameters at levels of concern in the community.”
In related news, Highland Avenue will close August 18 through August 29 to safely remove the buildings/structures along the street.
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Photo: CBS