BY ANDREA PALMER
Price Chopper is building a new store in Fort
Edward, on the site of the former Grand Union
at 354 Broadway.
But first the property has to be cleaned up
under the Brownfield program, and that will
begin this year.
The project will be a Market 32, part of a
rebranding and expansion plan for Schenectady based
Golub Corp, owner of the Price Chopper
chain of grocery stores.
Cleanup of the property is under way. D.A.
Collins Construction Co., out of Wilton, was
contracted to clean up the site.
Construction of the 40,000-square-foot store
is expected to begin in the spring and is said to
be the first Market 32 built from the ground up
in the state.
Price Chopper officials did not respond to
requests for information.
The site, a brownfield, is being developed
by 354 Broadway LLC, which has been working
with the town and will be involved in upcoming
cleanup at the site.
The town of Fort Edward just received a
$300,000 cleanup grant through the Brownfield
Opportunity Area program.
“It’s been a very long process, but we are finally
ready to get started,” stated Mitch Suprenant,
Fort Edward town supervisor.
The property was contaminated with PCB
material when it was used as a dumping ground
for General Electric Co., he said.
The town currently owns the property. The
EPA cleanup grant had to to be secured before
any transference of ownership. DEC approval
was also needed.
Now that appropriate approval and grants
have been secured, the town is able to officially
sell it to area developers. Money has been placed
in an escrow account. Paperwork was signed
July 13.
The developers will be responsible for the
cost of cleanup. Brownfield cleanup grants may
be available to offer tax credits.
“Nothing could be done until we had the
cleanup grant. Now we have that, and we’re ready
to sign contracts. We’re very excited to get things
moving,” said Suprenant.
“It’s been a really great process dealing with all
the agencies–federal and state, National Grid,
the EPA. There has been a good team effort from
everyone,” said Suprenant.
Fort Edward does not currently have a grocery
store in town.
PCB material will be relocated to a hazardous
waste disposal facility, or treated and returned
to the site to be used as fill.
Washington County had seized the property
for unpaid taxes years ago. The town of Fort
Edward later bought the property for $1. The
site has remained unusable because of the soil
contamination.
Building is expected to begin in the spring of
2016, with a grand opening for the store anticipated
around Thanksgiving.