Map of the blasting area for 1600 Delp Dr. in Towamencin.
The new owners of the parcel at 1600 Delp Drive have been issued a blasting permit by Towamencin Township for drilling and controlled blasting of bedrock at least once a day, beginning Thursday morning and lasting every day for eight weeks.
According to the township’s Facebook page, American Rock Mechanics LLC will blast to “facilitate the excavation” of rock for an expansion on the parcel.
The township said the blasting perimeter affects properties on Wambold, Detwiler, Gehman, Tomlinson and Fretz roads. This includes Greene Tweed, The Villas at Dock Woods and all nearby Dock communities, numerous commercial and industrial businesses, and residential neighborhoods.
According to the township, controlled blasting will occur Monday to Friday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., weather permitting.
The blasting, according to the township’s Facebook page, will be monitored “with portable seismographs to ensure vibrations” are safe.
Furthermore, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also issued three necessary blasting activity permits to American Rock Mechanics, per the township.
Chapter 46 of the township code, titled “Blasting,” states the following:
A notification list of all property owners and public utility companies within 1,000 feet of the blasting area property line as specified by § 46-4 of this chapter, including all property owners outside the boundaries of Towamencin Township.
and
Proper notification to individuals in the immediate vicinity of the blasting area shall be provided by way of horns, whistles or other approved devices. All sides of the blasting area shall be clearly posted at appropriate distances.
According to the township code, Section 46-4 states that all property owners and public utilities within 1,000 feet (a little less than one-quarter mile) of the blasting area property line must be notified a minimum of two weeks prior to the start of blasting operations.
The township code also states that blasting can only occur between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. No blasting allowed on Sunday or holidays.
The blasting company is not permitted to store explosives on the construction site overnight, per the township code.
Finally, the township required a certificate of insurance of no less than $2 million to cover damages to all public and private property, according to the tenets of the code.
1600 Delp Dr. renovation rendering.The parcel involved was purchased by AG-HS Delp Property Owner LLC, of New York, for $3.8 million in April 2022 from Martech Medical Products Inc., according to Montgomery County land records. AG-HS Delp Property Owner LLC also acquired seven other smaller parcels from Martech Medical Products and then had them all reverse subdivided, per county records.
AG-HS Delp Property Owner LLC is approved to build a 266,880-square-foot industrial facility on the parcel, according to commercial real estate broker Lee & Associates. The proposed leasing units will have 32-foot ceilings, 46 insulated dock doors, two drive-in doors, 270 parking spaces, and 54 trailer spaces, according to its website.
In September 2022, township supervisors, sans Kristin Warner, voted unanimously to approve a special exemption zoning request from the owner, according to township meeting minutes, to permit the construction of a road within the 50-foot-wide stream margin.
According to Lee & Associates, 1600 Delp Drive is available for lease, with an expected expansion completion date of 2025.
