Developer Breaking Ground at Old Huffman Koos Site in River Edge

After four years of waiting, the former Huffman Koos development project, approved in 2008, is finally going to begin Wednesday at noon with a groundbreaking ceremony.

Route 4-Main Street LLC which is owned by Peter and Paul Ciancia was granted site plan approval by the Planning Board in the fall of 2007 to construct a trio of retail buildings on Main Street with Total Wine moving closer towards Rt. 4 into a new 30,000-square-foot building on the property.

The former Huffman Koos building, located at Main Street and Kinderkamack Road, was demolished in 2008, but the project stalled as the economy weakened and the owners were required to spend $3 million in remediation efforts to remove trichloroethlyne per the state Department of Environmental Projection requirements. The chemical compound was historically used in dry cleaning operations up until the 1970-1980s.

The project was also delayed as Route 4-Main Street LLC, sought financial support from the state Economic Development Authority under the Economic Redevelopment and Growth (ERG) Program. The Authority denied Route 4-Main Street LLC's application but the company was able to begin signing leases in the fall.

As of September 2012, CVS signed an agreement in principal to move from their current location near the River Edge Diner into the current Total Wine store. A third building, approximately 22,000-square-foot, situated in the middle of the property had not yet garnered a potential lessee at that time.

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