Hartz Mountain mysteriously abandons 2M sf Jersey warehouse project

A big industrial builder just granted a little town in New Jersey its wish.

After two years, Hartz Mountain Industries inexplicably walked away from a project to build 2 million square feet of warehouse space, Gothamist reported.

Roxbury Township, a 60-minute drive from the Lincoln Tunnel on a good day, is home to a 990-acre site that once served powder explosives company Hercules, which has not operated there since the 1990s.

Hartz had been in negotiations with the planning board for the past two years over various aspects of the plans. It was trying to overcome criticism of “warehouse sprawl” — industrial development of expansive space in the Garden State that some, including New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, would rather see used for farming.

Detractors of the Hartz project complained the town lacks the infrastructure to accommodate the tractor-trailer traffic that would ensue. There is also a history of chemical contaminants at the property, according to the outlet, which raised environmental concerns.

Thomas Germinario, the town’s planning board attorney, told the outlet that there were also compliance issues with the builder’s application. Hartz reportedly wanted 95 percent of the space for the warehouses, with only 5 percent for offices, but the township is only zoned for up to 60 percent warehouse space.

New Jersey, one of the nation’s biggest industrial markets because of its road network, ports and proximity to the New York metro area, has become a hotbed for warehouse building, especially with internet retailers striving for ever-faster delivery.

The state has more than 3,000 warehouses that cover 527 million square feet and generate 380,000 truck trips per day, Gothamist reported based upon data from the Environmental Defense Fund and Clean Water Action. Almost 3 million New Jerseyans live within a half-mile of a warehouse.

Hartz Mountain’s recent projects include 200-plus-unit buildings in Weehawken and Hoboken and a 500,000-square-foot warehouse next to Teterboro Airport. Its project at the Hercules site would have likely involved cleanup of any contamination in its way.

With Hartz out of the picture, the Hercules site, where a gunpowder explosion in 1940 killed 51 people, will remain dormant and possibly polluted indefinitely.

 — Christina Previte

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