The new Seabrook House facility on White Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Governor Chris Christie is scheduled to cut ribbon Thursday to open a Shrewsbury addiction-treatment center.

Mayor Don Burden said he was unaware of the presence of the new Seabrook House at 21 White Street until asked about it by redbankgreen Tuesday.

“All news to me,” he said via email.

Burden could not be reached for further comment Wednesday morning.

Christie has made the opioid addiction crisis one of his top agenda items as he closes out his second term as governor, and was recently appointed by President Donald Trump to chair a presidential commission on the problem nationwide.

He’s scheduled to appear between 10:30 a.m. and noon, according to a press alert sent by the company.

The company’s website describes Seabrook as a 40-year-old provider of addiction recovery services. It operates an inpatient detox and drug rehab facility on 40 acres in Bridgeton, and outpatient centers in Bridgeton, Cherry Hill, Northfield and Morristown.

A call and an email to company representatives were not immediately responded to Wednesday morning.

The website lists the Shrewsbury facility as one in which Seabrook offers its trademarked “Share Counseling” outpatient rehab services, described as “Partial Hospitalization (PHP), Intensive Outpatient (IOP), traditional aftercare and individual counseling for those patients identified with co-occurring mental health and substance dependence issues.”

Patients live in their own homes and are responsible for their own transportation to and from the facility, according to the site.

The Shrewsbury facility is located next door to a strip mall where BagelMasters and other shops do business. Monmouth County property records show that an entity called VSJ Partners LLC of Tinton Falls bought the building for $290,000 in June, 2015.

Margaret ‘Peg’ Diehl, who founded Seabrook House in 1974 with her husband, Jerry, died in November at the age of 89.