Construction on the 33,000-square-foot Deerfield Twp. location near the corner of Wilkens Boulevard and Socialville-Foster Road, launched in late 2016, but stalled soon after starting, township officials told the Journal-News.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Township wants unfinished day care torn down
A recently approved preliminary agreement stipulates the steel structure will be removed and the grounds maintained to return the site to its natural condition and to remove any safety hazards it may pose, township officials said.
“We’re pleased that we’ve reached an agreement to get the steel structure taken down and the grounds maintained,” said James Flick, the township’s director of economic development told the Journal-News today. “We will continue to work diligently with the company to ensure that the property is returned to its natural conditions so that it can be marketed for future use as soon as possible.”
In 2018, CLA filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Arizona, not only affecting the future of the Deerfield Twp. project, but many other CLA facilities built or planned on land owned by ECE, officials said.
While Deerfield Twp.’s zoning regulations gave CLA until May 31, 2019 to substantially complete construction on the Wilkens Boulevard project, “it was clear that the development was not going to move forward due to the bankruptcy filing,” the township said in a statement.
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Deerfield Twp. staff issued a zoning violation Aug. 27 to get the attention of the property owner. The intent was to get the unfinished structure removed and the land returned to its natural condition as fast as possible.
The negotiations that followed led to the preliminary agreement regarding tear-down of the structure, as well as grounds maintenance of the site, which is located on a property fronting a Life Time Fitness. With that Sept. 19 agreement, Deerfield Twp. rescinded the zoning violation Sept. 20.
However, Deerfield Twp. reserves the right to reissue a zoning violation if any part of the agreement is not executed or if progress toward the complete clearing of the site is not made, officials said.
The company owns Children’s Learning Adventure centers in several states including Arizona, Texas, Indiana and Colorado. The Deerfield Twp. site would have produced approximately 100 jobs, similar to what was generated by the opening of the West Chester Twp. location at 8110 Market Place Drive in April 2017.
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