Developer sells property but doesn’t lose faith in Norristown rebound

 Developer Brian O'Neill's promise to lead an ambitious revitalization of Norristown's depressed Schuylkill riverfront came to an official end yesterday with an agreement to sell his only property there to the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority.

O'Neill said not to count out a Norristown revival, or his role in it.

"It is the next great river town to be redeveloped," O'Neill predicted in an interview later in the day - something he has said often of the county seat in recent years. "I hope I'm a huge player."

But for now, he is exiting the waterfront, where not long ago he sparked big hopes. Using dazzling color sketches and his trademark effusive salesmanship, O'Neill hooked a troubled town on the idea of luxury condos, cafes, shops, a multiplex, even a minor-league ballpark sprouting from a 365-acre redevelopment zone.

That area included 60 acres along the Schuylkill and Norristown's commercial corridor, Main Street.

O'Neill, who heads O'Neill Properties Group L.P. of King of Prussia, was designated the preferred redeveloper in November 2000 by the Redevelopment Authority and the borough, which would have put him first in line for public funding for the revitalization.

Instead, public funds are being used to buy out his riverside holdings.

In the deal approved yesterday by the authority's executive board, $3.7 million in state economic-development and infrastructure-improvement funds approved for O'Neill's use will go to buy nearly 13 acres he bought between 1988 and 2003 for $930,500, according to county property records.

The land, at 500, 600, and 700 E. Washington St., includes the former Nicolet asbestos-manufacturing plant. O'Neill had secured state funding for demolition and property cleanup, but he had never amassed the private money necessary to proceed with any significant work there, said Jerry Nugent, the Redevelopment Authority's executive director.

The plan now is to use the properties for a new sewage-treatment plant, the details and financing of which are still being worked out. The plant would replace a malfunctioning facility nearby, long considered an obstacle to riverfront redevelopment.

Future revitalization efforts would be focused on the riverfront west of the new plant, estimated to cost $150 million and be at least eight years from completion.

"This is an enormous project of great importance," Jay Ochroch, Redevelopment Authority vice chairman, said at yesterday's meeting.