New shopping center to replace local auto salvage yard

College Township is in line to lose an auto salvage yard and gain a new shopping center on East College Avenue -- if a bussing situation can be straightened out.

Construction is set to begin this year on a 13-acre shopping center at the site of Abramson Auto Wrecking, 2268 E. College Ave.

Mike Theisen of Woodmont Corp., based in Fort Worth, Texas and project engineer Mark A. Torretti of Penn Terra Engineering presented plans for the development to the College Township planning commission Tuesday night.

Commission members seemed most concerned with the location of a proposed Centre Area Transportation Authority bus stop. Torretti said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has asked for the stop to be inside the parking area rather than on a pull-off area on East College Avenue. CATA told Torretti that a roadside bus stop would be preferable.

Township engineer Kent A. Baker said developers will have to work out bus and auto traffic patterns with the state. The entrance from East College Avenue could be problematic, he said.

"There is a good chance that CATA will not serve the site if they cannot get a stop that is convenient," he said. "PennDOT is the biggest issue with this site."

The commission could not recommend the plans to the township supervisors without public transportation assured, David Joyce, commission vice chair, said.

While CATA's route system must be taken into consideration, he said, the stop must be acceptable for riders, meaning it must be in the parking lot.

"There will be one hell of an uproar from senior citizens if they have to get off on Benner Pike," he said.

As for the auto salvage yard, township resident Pat Vernon said no tears would be shed over the loss.

"We have been trying to get rid of the salvage yard for years," the former township planning commission member said. "Nothing against auto wrecking yards -- that is where you get parts for your car -- but it doesn't belong there."

Abramson will remain in business, said Robert Mitinger, Abramson's attorney, only in a smaller yard near Lamar.

Replacing the yard, the 116,000-square foot development will have five stores and fit in with retail buildings already in the rapidly expanding area, said

"I would not say it will be just another strip mall," he said.

The commission tabled the matter until its April 15 meeting, zoning administrator Todd H. Smith said.

There are details relating to the environmental condition of the site that need to be worked out.

But, Mitinger said, the site is pristine.

"People think of this as a junk yard," he said. "It is not a junk yard, it is a metals recycling yard. People who say this do not know the metals recycling business. Mr. Abramson has always taken pride in running a clean lot."

All fluids are drained from cars and sold before parts are cannibalized, Mitinger said.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection test wells on the site have come up clean.