Jones Lang LaSalle
N. Bergen planners OK retail project
Friday, March 10, 2006
By PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER
NORTH BERGEN -- Township planners have given a green light to a $90 million redevelopment project that would further gritty Tonnelle Avenue's transformation into a big-box shopping destination.
The Planning Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to grant site plan approval to Paramus-based Vornado Realty Trust, one of the nation's largest owners and managers of real estate, to develop the site of the former APA Transport Corp. trucking depot.
The 465,857-square-foot shopping center would be anchored by two big-box retailers and include six other stores, a bank, a restaurant and parking for 2,025 vehicles. It would cover a 40-acre tract on the west side of Routes 1 and 9 between 85th and 91st streets.
In recent years, Target, Lowe's and other major retailers have opened new stores along the largely industrial highway.
"This will certainly enhance the area, make it more attractive and be of considerable service to the people who live in the area," Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco said Thursday. "It will also improve our ratable base because it will be a much better ratable than an area that was just housing trucks."
Among the companies said to be negotiating leases are BJ's Wholesale Club and the Applebee's restaurant chain. "So you're talking about some major stores and businesses coming in," Sacco noted.
The development plan, which did not require any zoning code variances, was swiftly approved following a two-hour hearing.
"We're very happy and pleased with this variance-free application being approved and look forward to working with the community to make it the best possible project," said Vornado attorney Dennis Oury.
In a related matter, Oury disclosed that Vornado has reached an agreement to sell three lots of the APA tract, housing a private gym, indoor pool, weight room and tennis courts, to the Hudson County School of Technology for $3 million.
The technology school, which serves about 700 students in its high-tech and alternative schools, currently leases the building for recreation and classroom activities and has had designs on purchasing the facilities since 2002.
Vornado had to scale back its plans by about 50,000 square feet of retail space to accommodate the sale, Oury said.
Representatives of the developer and the town will meet with state Department of Transportation officials in Trenton next week to discuss the creation of left-turn lanes from Tonnelle Avenue onto 91st Street, said Arthur Neiss, another attorney for Vornado.
Vornado is expected to close on its purchase of the property from APA next week.
All the buildings on the APA site, which ceased operations in 2002, will be razed. Before construction can begin, contaminated soils from the township's former swimming pool complex must be cleaned up.
In a land-and-cash swap with APA, the township traded its old pool property for a nearby tract where officials are planning to build a new pool complex.
E-mail: sampson@northjersey.com
N. Bergen planners OK retail project
Friday, March 10, 2006
By PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER
NORTH BERGEN -- Township planners have given a green light to a $90 million redevelopment project that would further gritty Tonnelle Avenue's transformation into a big-box shopping destination.
The Planning Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to grant site plan approval to Paramus-based Vornado Realty Trust, one of the nation's largest owners and managers of real estate, to develop the site of the former APA Transport Corp. trucking depot.
The 465,857-square-foot shopping center would be anchored by two big-box retailers and include six other stores, a bank, a restaurant and parking for 2,025 vehicles. It would cover a 40-acre tract on the west side of Routes 1 and 9 between 85th and 91st streets.
In recent years, Target, Lowe's and other major retailers have opened new stores along the largely industrial highway.
"This will certainly enhance the area, make it more attractive and be of considerable service to the people who live in the area," Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco said Thursday. "It will also improve our ratable base because it will be a much better ratable than an area that was just housing trucks."
Among the companies said to be negotiating leases are BJ's Wholesale Club and the Applebee's restaurant chain. "So you're talking about some major stores and businesses coming in," Sacco noted.
The development plan, which did not require any zoning code variances, was swiftly approved following a two-hour hearing.
"We're very happy and pleased with this variance-free application being approved and look forward to working with the community to make it the best possible project," said Vornado attorney Dennis Oury.
In a related matter, Oury disclosed that Vornado has reached an agreement to sell three lots of the APA tract, housing a private gym, indoor pool, weight room and tennis courts, to the Hudson County School of Technology for $3 million.
The technology school, which serves about 700 students in its high-tech and alternative schools, currently leases the building for recreation and classroom activities and has had designs on purchasing the facilities since 2002.
Vornado had to scale back its plans by about 50,000 square feet of retail space to accommodate the sale, Oury said.
Representatives of the developer and the town will meet with state Department of Transportation officials in Trenton next week to discuss the creation of left-turn lanes from Tonnelle Avenue onto 91st Street, said Arthur Neiss, another attorney for Vornado.
Vornado is expected to close on its purchase of the property from APA next week.
All the buildings on the APA site, which ceased operations in 2002, will be razed. Before construction can begin, contaminated soils from the township's former swimming pool complex must be cleaned up.
In a land-and-cash swap with APA, the township traded its old pool property for a nearby tract where officials are planning to build a new pool complex.
E-mail: sampson@northjersey.com
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:20 PM
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