Bergen County proposal replaces housing with warehouses

Residents in Franklin Lakes may want to be careful what they wish for, because after opposing a large multifamily project, much of it has been shifted towards industrial development.

1. Hekemian Group proposed eliminating 335 housing units for its project at 400 Parsons Pond Road, NorthJersey.com reported. That would leave 305 units to be developed for the once 640-unit project, which has also seen an iteration with 585 units.

What’s to become of those omitted 335 units? Two warehouses that will span 495,000 square feet, helping the site achieve a certified tic-tac-toe of uses, as an office park formerly reigned at the former IBM and Express Scripts complex.

It’s not clear how residents feel about the new plan after the previous proposal sparked harsh blowback. A meeting held last month attracted a standing-room only crowd, which largely spoke out against the project.

The developer and the borough in recent weeks came to a settlement agreement on what to do for the site. Other aspects of the agreement specify 250 multifamily units — potentially affordable bases on housing type — 55 affordable units, 50,000 square feet of retail space and up to $500,000 in donations for infrastructure improvements.

There would also be no payments in lieu of taxes attached to the project.

The latest plan will be presented at a special meeting on March 29th with Mayor Charles Kahwaty and the borough council in attendance. The mayor said a vote could be considered then.

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An agreement between the developer and borough could be critical for the site’s future, Kahwaty has said. Under a state doctrine involving a demand to build affordable housing, a lack of agreement could lead the court system to decide what gets built there.

That could lead to a development spanning up to 2,500 housing units, according to the mayor, just a tad more than residents previously disputed.

— Holden Walter-Warner