On Monday Jan. 6, Moorestown Township received an executed federal aid agreement that will allow preliminary engineering work to begin on the Lenola Town Center Improvement Plan. The township received notice of their eligibility for the original funding award for project construction, obtained through a grant under the Transportation Alternatives Program co-administered by the NJ Department of Transportation and Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission in 2018. Subsequently, the township was awarded an additional $366,744 in Aug.2019 through the Design Assistance Program for preliminary engineering, final design and construction engineering costs not covered under the original grant award.
The township was required to wait for an executed copy of the federal aid agreement in order to ensure that all funds expended at this phase of the project would be reimbursed by the new grant. Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie signed a notice to proceed on Jan. 7 authorizing the firm of McCormick Taylor to begin work on the project.
“We are thrilled that this exciting revitalization to our Lenola district is getting started and that we were able to save Moorestown taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Gillespie said. “Any chance to make progress for the town while returning hard-earned tax dollars from the federal and state government to our taxpayers is time and energy well spent in serving our residents and businesses.”
Gillespie also acknowledged the hard work of the township and citizen volunteers on this project, as well as help the township received from Senator Troy Singleton’s office throughout the process.
“The award of this grant will undoubtedly help invigorate Moorestown’s Lenola Business District,” Singleton said in a statement. “The planned improvements will benefit both residents and business owners alike. I will continue to work with Mayor Gillespie to ensure that we do everything we can to support the small businesses in this community and see them succeed.”
The Lenola Town Center Improvement Plan is a streetscape improvement project that will enhance the aesthetic and economic vitality of the Moorestown Lenola business district area. The plan aims to improve and increase connectivity of the Lenola neighborhood town center through enhanced signage, new bike lanes, traffic calming strategies, shade trees, decorative lighting, benches, litter/recycling receptacles, a bus shelter, attractive and ADA-compliant sidewalks and decorative crosswalks.
