The first hammers have been swung to kickstart the demolition of the long-shuttered former chicken processing plant building at Heron Park in Berlin.
Berlin resident Gussie Sholtis takes her turn with the sledgehammer at the March 7 demolition kickoff at Heron Park. Charlene Sharpe/Bayside Gazette
Sledgehammers taken to shuttered building at Heron Park
By Charlene Sharpe, Associate Editor
Community members recently joined state and local officials to celebrate the pending demolition of the former chicken processing plant building at Heron Park.
Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jake Day, Berlin’s elected officials, and several municipal employees and community members gathered on March 7 to kick off the demolition process beginning this month. A $500,000 grant from the state will allow the town to knock down a portion of the dilapidated structure.
“Congratulations to the entire Berlin team and community,” Day said. “Let’s knock this thing down.”
After more than a year was spent negotiating with a developer who wanted to turn the old processing plant into a mixed-use project, the council late last year opted not to proceed with the sale of the property. Instead, officials decided to take advantage of a $500,000 strategic demolition grant the town received from the state in 2021 to knock down the derelict building.
The town’s “demolition party” on March 7 celebrated plans to finally begin the process this month. Mayor Zack Tyndall said the town was grateful to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development for awarding Berlin the grant. He said the town would be working with contractor JNT Enterprises to tear down as much of the building as possible with the funding.
“At the end of the day, the goal’s going to be to have a front section of the building over here, repurposing what was once the offices as well as the cafeteria and some of the storage area of the building,” he said. “Then there will be a portion of the back building that will still stand, which could hopefully be repurposed for some sort of warehousing component. That’s the ultimate end goal. We’re excited to be able to be here today with everyone. I know our citizens are very happy to see something happening with the site.”
Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jake Day addresses the crowd who gathered on March 7 to see the kickoff of the demotion of the old chicken processing plant at Heron Park in Berlin. Standing with him are Mayor Zack Tyndall and members of the town council.
Charlene Sharpe/Bayside Gazette
Day said that as he spent his days traveling the state in his role as secretary, he was pleased to be able to spend time in Berlin, a town he has visited with his family and has watched enjoy success in recent years.
“As mayor of Salisbury, I got to watch our neighbors here in Berlin build and grow ‘America’s Coolest Small Town,’” he said. “You all have done such an incredible job.”
Day said he was proud his department was able to support the town with façade grants, as well as with this strategic demolition grant.
“I’m so proud to be able to stand here with you, watch your vision come to life, come to reality,” he said. “The razing of this plan will do away with what is clearly been a long time, unused facility…. It’s a literal and physical and even figurative obstacle to progress and you’re taking it down in order to take the next step in Berlin’s future. I’m so proud to play a small part in that, to be a supporter.”
After last week’s demolition event, the Berlin Town Council on March 11 voted unanimously to approve a $302,210.28 contract with JNT Enterprises. While the company was previously selected as the project contractor, officials asked for pricing for more work on the site, such as the cost of ensuring demolition to grade.
Officials reviewed that estimate at the Monday’s meeting. While the projection set the cost of demolishing the entire structure at slightly more than $436,000, officials approved demolition of areas one, two and three as well as some cleanup in area seven for a price of $302,210.28.
The town has already spent about $80,000 of its grant on engineering fees, and Tyndall pointed out that by going with the partial demolition, the town would have more than $120,000 left in contingency for unknown work. Andrew Welch, an engineer with Davis, Bowen & Friedel, said his company recommended maintaining some reserve funding.
“There could be utilities there we don’t know about,” he said. “There could be large concrete foundations under that slab. We’d like to keep a reserve.”
When Councilman Steve Green asked about the timeline for the work, town staff said additional asbestos testing had to be completed first. Tyndall added that in response to some calls he’d received from community members, he’d asked the contractor to do a sweep of the building each day before beginning demolition work to ensure it was clear.