The unfinished Mount Laurel emergency medical services headquarters on Route 73.
The marketing company that was building a new Mount Laurel Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Route 73 — now a fenced-off, partly finished structure — was declared in default by the Township Council this week.
Council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to issue the default notice and to notify Catalyst Experiential LLC of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania that it has 45 days to remedy the stalled redevelopment project. If the company works with the Township to restart the EMS building, it must be completed by December 31, according to the resolution.
Construction of the new EMS building began in August 2021 and was suspended in September 2022 by contractor Bannett Group Ltd. of Springdale Road in Cherry Hill. The contractor sued Catalyst in state Superior Court in Burlington County, claiming bills had not been paid for part of the job.
The project "remains completely stalled and lifeless, and all the while the taxpayers and visitors are stuck viewing unfinished projects, and the EMS squad still awaits its long overdue facility," according to the Council resolution.
Catalyst approached the Township in 2018 and agreed to give the town a new EMS headquarters in return for installing digital advertising billboards on the front that could be seen by drivers going in both directions on Route 73.
Under the redevelopment agreement, Catalyst also agreed to build a standalone digital display at Route 38 and Midlantic Drive, with a welcome sign, gardens and decorative pool. Another digital display sign was planned along Route 295 in town.
"Numerous unsuccessful requests have been made to obtain updated construction schedules, and remobilization dates have come and gone with no further activity," the resolution states.
The redevelopment project has had the opposite intended effect of improving the properties and "instead of returning the property to a viable use, they have created even worse blight, and an eyesore on the Township's major thoroughfare," according to the resolution.
A 70and73.com email seeking comment from Catalyst was not immediately answered on Thursday afternoon.
In March, Joe Weinlick, the firm's chief operating officer, told 70and73.com that he expected the project to be completed over the summer and open this fall. He said the 7,890-square-foot building was estimated to cost $3.8 million at the outset, but it was $2 million over budget.
The parties in the Superior Court lawsuit were referred to mediation in late July, and the judge in the case wrote that it would be reviewed after October 31 to determine if it should proceed.
Council's resolution on Tuesday also authorized the Township to continue to search for another location for the EMS headquarters.
"The redeveloper's actions, and frankly, inaction, have created considerable damage to the reputation of the Township and Catalyst's own reputation," the resolution stated.
