EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ – It has been an eyesore for residents for quite some time, and for many, today couldn’t come soon enough. The massive smoke stack tower at Beasley Point was imploded minutes after 10 a.m., on schedule and without incident.
The towering landmark of Beesley’s Point, a long-standing smokestack at the former B.L. England Generating Station, ended through a planned implosion on Thursday, October 26, at 10 AM. This monumental event marked the erasure of a historic industrial icon from the landscape, making way for the upcoming commercial and residential developments alongside a new power plant designated for New Jersey’s offshore wind farms.
The smokestack, standing several hundred feet tall, had been a familiar sight for both locals and visitors heading towards the southern New Jersey shore for many years. Its design, mimicking a lighthouse, had become an emblematic fixture since 1987, symbolizing the region’s industrial narrative. The adjacent cooling tower, resembling those seen at nuclear power facilities albeit smaller, had already been demolished a few months prior, with much of the remaining plant structure dismantled in April.
The Beesley’s Point Development Group (BPDG), current owners of the site, initially slated the smokestack’s demolition for June. However, an unforeseen security risk prompted a revision of this timeline. The incident involved two individuals from Pennsylvania attempting to extract explosives from the premises, leading to their arrest and a subsequent delay in the demolition schedule.
Chris Wilson, BPDG’s co-founder, expressed enthusiasm about the implosion event, anticipating a “pretty spectacular” sight. The implosion not only alters the physical skyline but also symbolizes a transition from the old to the new, embodying the region’s evolving energy landscape. The former plant, operational since 1961, ceased its functions on May 1st, 2019, setting the stage for this transformation.
The implosion of the iconic smokestack is more than just a spectacle—it’s a significant stride towards ushering in a new era of energy production and urban development in Egg Harbor. The cleared site is now poised to host both residential and commercial structures, merging past industrial glory with future sustainable energy prospects, particularly focusing on harnessing offshore wind energy.