Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Future unclear for Glouco missile site

The Nike base was purchased by Woolwich Twp., but the bad economy has stalled things.

JBASE01P1DW DAVID M WARREN 7-31-01 Woolwich Twp Council hears from an insurance company Tuesday night regarding the costs and environmental risks involved in the redevelopment of the old Swedesboro Nike Missile site and radar post. IN THIS PHOTO: The top of a rusted tower or structure on the enclosed portion of land described in the assignment. View is looking North from Gilchris Drive at Paulsboro Road -Inquirer Staff Photo by David M Warren-
JBASE01P1DW DAVID M WARREN 7-31-01 Woolwich Twp Council hears from an insurance company Tuesday night regarding the costs and environmental risks involved in the redevelopment of the old Swedesboro Nike Missile site and radar post. IN THIS PHOTO: The top of a rusted tower or structure on the enclosed portion of land described in the assignment. View is looking North from Gilchris Drive at Paulsboro Road -Inquirer Staff Photo by David M Warren-Read moreINQ WARREN
    by Joseph A. Gambardello, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Three years after purchasing the command section of a Cold War-era Nike missile base from the U.S. government for $828,000, Woolwich Township owns the site free and clear.

Its future, though, remains unclear.

Located on Paulsboro Road, just off Route 322 and across from St. Joseph's Cemetery, the overgrown, 33-acre site was part of the nation's air defense until 1974, when the Army abandoned it and other Nike bases protecting Philadelphia.

Under the purchase agreement, Woolwich, which hopes to sell the parcel to a developer, would have had to turn over to the federal government any profit in the first three years.

That period ended in June, said Jane DiBella, township administrator.

Due to the stalled economy, no effort is afoot to sell the land, she said, but work is under way that would put it within the township's sewer area, making it more attractive to a buyer when the economy improves.

The Gloucester County site also must be designated as a redevelopment zone before a sale can go forward, DiBella said.

Known as Swedesboro PH-58, the base was among three protecting Philadelphia when the Army abandoned them in 1974.

Nike bases had two parts close to each other. One was the command section, which housed the facility's radar towers and control center. The other, known as the launch center, was where the base's nuclear guided missiles were stored horizontally in underground magazines for use in a last-ditch defense of major urban centers against Soviet bombers.

The PH-58 control site also housed the base's administrative offices, mess hall, and barracks, some still in ruins.

The site does not require an environmental cleanup, but a developer would have to remove existing structures, DiBella said.

The township also purchased the base's launch site for $1 under the condition that it retain ownership and use the land as a park without sports fields.

The township has more of a vision for that parcel, DiBella said.

"We would like to make that some type of walking trail with signage" about the site's role in the Cold War, she said. That might mean preserving some of the missile magazine site.

The park also could serve as a location for veterans memorials in the township, one of the fastest-growing in the state, DiBella said.

"Hopefully, we can get some grants," she said. "That's our aim."