By Mike Hayes, Gothamist
A New Jersey developer is mysteriously walking away from a proposal to build more than 2 million square feet of warehouses in Roxbury, New Jersey after more than two years of negotiations with the township.
Thomas Germinario, an attorney for the township’s planning board, confirmed to Gothamist that the company, Hartz Mountain, withdrew its application to build the warehouses at the former home of Hercules LLC, a powder explosives company that has not operated at the site since the 1990s.
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Germinario said that the real estate development firm did not give a reason for withdrawing from the project, which was expected to generate 1,200 construction jobs and an additional 1,200 jobs once the warehouses were completed.
The abandoned plan is the latest in the ongoing saga to bring jobs and tax revenue to the suburban township, where the 990-acre property — the largest current parcel of available developable land in Morris County — has been empty for more than two decades. But local officials have questioned whether the township’s infrastructure could handle the tractor-trailer traffic associated with a massive set of five warehouses. Meanwhile, concerns loom about the environmental effects of building on the site, which has a history of chemical contamination.
Related: Why the Roxbury Township warehouse bid blew up Daily Record
The Roxbury project’s setback reflects the conflict that New Jersey, like other states with vibrant port economies, faces around rapid warehouse growth. On one hand, the development of more warehouses in New Jersey reflects a boom in the economy to meet the needs spurred by the expansion of online sales. However, some — including Gov. Phil Murphy — say the state must consider curtailing warehouse development to help save the environment.
