Britton Industries’ checkered and, according to neighbors, stinky history in Upper Holmesburg appears to be nearing its end.
The topsoil and mulch production company is selling its Northeast Philadelphia facility and has reached an agreement of sale with a company involved in trucking, Sixth District Councilman Bobby Henon told residents at the Dec. 20 Upper Holmesburg Civic Association meeting.
“You scared them away,” Henon said. “Britton Industries is no longer here because of the community.”
For years, neighbors have complained about the odor from the facility as well as debris created by the business.
Britton Industries could not immediately be reached for comment.
It’s unclear what the potential buyers plan to do with the property, located at 8901 Torresdale Ave. UHCA zoning chairman Paul DeFinis said representatives from the company are planning to come to the civic’s January meeting.
“Any organization that wants to come into this community and work their trade or whatever business they’re running, we’ll welcome them with open arms, as long as they’re a good neighbor,” UHCA President Stanley Cywinski said.
Henon and UHCA board members did not identify the company that has agreed to purchase the Britton site.
In other news from the Dec. 20 meeting:
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- The UHCA and Wawa continue to work on a community benefits agreement as part of a plan to build a store with a gas station on the Morrissey site at Frankford Avenue and Academy Road. Part of the agreement is a playground, possibly an all-inclusive playground like Jake’s Place in Cherry Hill. The difficulty has been finding a location for the playground with enough parking to accommodate the anticipated interest. The new Wawa will replace the current store at Frankford and Linden.
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- UHCA Board Member Tom Geisler said Holy Family University is drafting applications for a total of $1 million in scholarships that will be available to family members of people who belong to the civic association. The scholarship money was provided as part of a community benefits agreement with Holy Family and NewCourtland for the redevelopment of the former Liddonfield Homes site. Seniors in high school wishing to attend Holy Family whose family members are in the civic association will be eligible to apply. The fund is expected to dole out $100,000 a year for 10 years, but the exact amount may fluctuate year to year depending on need, Geisler said. He said a small amount of the money will also be made available to nearby civic groups.
- The UHCA’s next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. at St. Dominic’s Marian Hall, 8532 Frankford Ave. ••
Jack Tomczuk can be reached at [email protected]
I wouldn’t get too excited about Britton’s sale of their property. The sale could be held up until Britton clears its property of any hazardous wastes. This could take some time. It could also scare the trucking company away, resulting in Britton’s continued operation. Britton applied for a permit with the City back in June. After 7 months, why doesn’t the City know if that permit request was accepted or rejected by the City ? I’m sorry; if the sale goes through, eyeryone would be ecstatic. If it doesn’t, I would not be surprised. And if it doesn’t, will the City reject the request for the permit and force Britton to cease operation, since they don’t have a permit ? It’s very suspicious that an operation like Brittons has been allowed to operate for years without a City permit.