Borough Demolishes Abandoned Gas Station

Wednesday, July 13, around 9 a.m., the borough lived up to a promise, demolishing an abandoned old gas station at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 130.

The longtime eyesore had been raising complaints from locals for several years, said borough officials.

So the borough reached out to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), as well as the gas station's previous owner to arrange its demolition.

A years-long process, those efforts finally came to fruition Wednesday.

“It’s been an issue for us for years,” said Borough Administrator Brad Stokes. “We couldn’t get action or response from either party, and it was crucial to see something happen here. So we took it upon ourselves to make sure it got done.”

Collingswood reportedly received over $10,000 in bids to demolish the structure, but chose to have equipment and assistance from Glassboro.

With help from the municipality, the borough successfully demolished the station for under $2,000.

According to borough officials, the post-demolition site was cleared out within one day.

One business owner was particularly happy to see the structure go.

"It's a beautiful thing that (the building) is gone," said Jim Meier, who owns Park Avenue Autos—which sits next to the old gas station. "My business has more exposure (now). But for the whole area, and the neighbors, it's so much better. It's a great thing Collingswood did by stepping up to handle this."

The borough reportedly plans to transform the site with a series of beautification projects, including tree planting.