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.
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.
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.
Germinario said there had been some compliance issues with Hartz Mountain’s application. For one, he said its recent plan called for 95% of the space for the warehouses and only 5% office use — while that part of the township is only zoned for up to 60% warehouse use. However, Germinario said the township and Hartz Mountain were still having “back-and-forth discussions” about that issue.
New Jersey has developed a recent reputation as a place where the warehouse industry can thrive, much to environmentalists’ chagrin.
According to a June 2024 report from the Environmental Defense Fund and Clean Water Action, there are 3,034 warehouses in New Jersey that cover 527 million square feet and generate 380,000 truck trips per day. According to the report, 2.7 million New Jerseyans live within a half-mile of a warehouse.
Murphy said he’d like to see the state tackle the warehouse sprawl. During an appearance in May on WNYC’s monthly “Ask Governor Murphy” show, the governor responded to a caller who told him New Jersey warehouse “monstrosities” are “going on some of the best farmland” in the country, adding to the difficulty of being a grower in New Jersey and “scarring the rural character” of the state.
The governor said he agreed with the caller, while adding New Jersey is a “victim of our own success” with ports in places like Newark and Elizabeth “booming like never before.”
Murphy said he didn’t have a “crisp answer” for how to fix warehouse sprawl, but said the administration had been discussing options.
“It is a problem that is front burner for us that we are committed to solving,” he said.
The Murphy administration didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment on the collapse of the Roxbury warehouse plan.
Members of the township council also didn’t immediately respond to a request from Gothamist for comment on the matter. But Roxbury Planning Board Chair Charles Bautz told TapInto Roxbury he was shocked by Hartz Mountain’s sudden decision to pull the plan, adding it “blows my mind.”
Stephen Benoit, assistant vice president at Hartz Mountain, said the company had no comment.
According to the company’s website, Hartz Mountain was founded by Max Stern in 1926 “when he imported his first shipment of singing canaries from his native Germany to America.” Today, the company focuses on industrial and multifamily real estate. Recent projects from Hartz Mountain include 200-plus residential unit buildings in Weehawken and Hoboken. The company is currently constructing a 500,000-plus-square-foot warehouse next to Teterboro Airport.
Germinario said he expects that the property’s owners will seek an alternative project now that Hartz Mountain has walked away. But he noted that the township doesn’t “have any proposals before us at this point in time.”
Ashland Global purchased Hercules LLC in 2009. Ashland didn’t immediately respond to questions about what the company might pursue next now that the warehouse plan isn’t moving forward.
The Hercules site, which has been dormant since the 1990s, has a sordid history of deadly accidents, including a gunpowder explosion that killed 51 people in 1940.