Controversial Salem Cineplex Project Moving Forward

SALEM, MA -- The company behind a controversial project for an entertainment complex at 355-373 Highland Avenue in Salem has been removing asbestos-contaminated soil from the site this week. CW Theaters, which wants to build a 10-screen movie theater, restaurant, arcade and other entertainment businesses, is expected to submit a revised version of the proposal to the city sometime next year. The original proposal, which was submitted more than three years ago, drew strong opposition from area residents who say the Ward 3 neighborhood is already congested with regularly occurring traffic backups.

"We're still hopeful it can happen in the near future," Jim Deal, a spokesman for CW Theaters, told the Salem News, which first reported this story. said of the project. "We have made some changes tomake the theater a little more luxurious, which I think helps the traffic situation."

The asbestos on the site comes from illegal dumping. Workers had originally planned to removed 30 cubic yards of contaminated soil but the scope of the work has been expanded with the discovery of more contaminated material.

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo by Dave Copeland.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).