Demolition of Publicker buildings in Linfield has begun

LIMERICK — Demolition has begun on the derelict buildings at the former Publicker Distillery site in Linfield, township officials have confirmed.

The developer, Limerick Town Center LLC of Madison, Conn., has applied to build a new trucking terminal/warehouse facility on the 197-acre site off Linfield Road.

The company purchased the property for $17.1 million from Tim Hendricks on Sept. 28, 2022. In 2020, Hendricks floated the idea of building 1,100 homes, stores and offices there. Then, in February, of 2022 he changed course and proposed building warehouses there.

Township Manager Dan Kerr confirmed that the demolition — the permit for which was approved in February — has begun with the smaller buildings on the site. There are more than 12 buildings in the site and “it’s going to take a while,” he said. “They’ve done a lot of site clean-up, cutting back trees  and now they’re ready for demolition.” Demolition had been set to begin Sept. 11.

In its place, the developers propose building two buildings; a 1,154,600 square-foot trucking terminal/warehouse and a second one of 761,600 square feet. In August, the company applied to the township for a conditional use hearing before the township supervisors for the use. The date for that hearing is Oct. 17.

It’s unclear how this project will mesh with the 69-page Linfield Master Plan, a draft of which was presented to the board of supervisors in March of 2022.

However, a review of supervisor agendas since that presentation indicates the plan, which took 25 months to draft, has yet to come back before the board for further consideration.