Jones Lang LaSalle
National Lead redevelopment weighed down
The value of 410-acre site and its cleanup are major issues in Sayreville
Sunday, April 16, 2006
BY NAWAL QAROONI
Star-Ledger Staff
Before Sayreville can see a minor league baseball stadium and waterfront marinas on the former 410-acre National Lead site, the borough's redevelopment agency, the state and the former paint pigment company have several issues to resolve.
The two main points are the value of the land and who will be responsible for cleaning up the property.
National Lead claims the property is worth far more than what Sayreville's redevelopment agency offered and put into an escrow account with the state.
"We think it's an extraordinarily valuable piece of property," said Chris Gibson, counsel for the company. "NL is entitled to the value put to its highest and best use."
SERA has valued the land based on industrial zoning, when its purpose is to hand it off to a developer -- LNR Property Corp. -- for mixed-use projects, said Chris Gibson, who has been counsel for Texas-based National Lead for nine years.
But Mayor Kennedy O'Brien, who also sits on SERA, said Superior Court Judge Robert A. Longhi ordered the borough to place a fair amount of money -- $33.5 million borrowed from Middlesex County -- in an escrow account upon condemnation last year.
"I think there are a lot of lawyers making a lot of money off of this," O'Brien said. "There's great latitude in how land in need of redevelopment is zoned. But we offered fair market value."
National Lead appealed Longhi's determination that the value of the property should be based on industrial zoning that was in effect when the borough condemned the land. That litigation is pending.
"We don't care what they do with the land as long as they pay us the fair value that the Constitution requires," Gibson said. "In the United States, there are laws that make it so that nobody can take your property without compensating you fairly first."
The $33.5 million that SERA put in escrow represents the value of the land in addition to estimated cleanup costs, although a more recent study found that the cleanup would be even more expensive.
TRC Raviv Associates Inc., a company based in Millburn that specializes in the evaluation of contaminated sites, concluded the cleanup costs have risen to $42 million, primarily because of the expense of disposing radioactive dirt.
In 2002, the borough's redevelopment agency offered National Lead $4 million, based on an appraisal made by Norman J. Goldberg Inc. of West Caldwell and an expert's estimate that the cost of cleanup would cost $28 million.
The county arrived at the $4 million figure by deducting the estimated $28 million from the $32 million appraised value of the property.
Randy Corman, executive director of the borough's redevelopment agency, said Longhi later determined that the agency couldn't offer a number based on fair market value as if the land were clean.
Corman said National Lead has never presented a concrete number for how much the land is worth.
While both sides continue to haggle over the value of the land, they are still arguing over who will end up with the responsibility to clean up the site.
Though government officials have said the company has been "dragging their feet" on the cleanup and sale of their property, Gibson attributes the tardy cleanup to delayed responses from the state Department of Environmental Protection. National Lead wants to maintain cleanup rights, he said.
"The truth is, the DEP has taken longer than it takes to have a baby, an average of 310 days, to respond to any report we've submitted," Gibson said. "With all due respect, National Lead is better at cleanup. We're more efficient and cost-effective and it would waste a lot of time, effort and money if the responsibility was turned over that would add extra cost for either LNR or the taxpayers."
DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said each case is dealt with on an individual basis.
"It doesn't take 310 days -- wherever that number came from -- for the DEP to respond to submissions," Makatura said. "That number is not an accurate assessment of how long it takes."
Cleanup responsibilities currently fall on National Lead. But borough officials hope LNR will take over the cleanup.
"Sure, we'd prefer LNR to take over cleanup," Corman said. "NL has no approved cleanup plan."
Gibson said he received one call from Bill Ryan, project manager for LNR, about three weeks ago, requesting a meeting. He said the company is open to negotiation if the land's actual value is recognized.
Representatives for LNR could not be reached for comment.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
National Lead redevelopment weighed down
The value of 410-acre site and its cleanup are major issues in Sayreville
Sunday, April 16, 2006
BY NAWAL QAROONI
Star-Ledger Staff
Before Sayreville can see a minor league baseball stadium and waterfront marinas on the former 410-acre National Lead site, the borough's redevelopment agency, the state and the former paint pigment company have several issues to resolve.
The two main points are the value of the land and who will be responsible for cleaning up the property.
National Lead claims the property is worth far more than what Sayreville's redevelopment agency offered and put into an escrow account with the state.
"We think it's an extraordinarily valuable piece of property," said Chris Gibson, counsel for the company. "NL is entitled to the value put to its highest and best use."
SERA has valued the land based on industrial zoning, when its purpose is to hand it off to a developer -- LNR Property Corp. -- for mixed-use projects, said Chris Gibson, who has been counsel for Texas-based National Lead for nine years.
But Mayor Kennedy O'Brien, who also sits on SERA, said Superior Court Judge Robert A. Longhi ordered the borough to place a fair amount of money -- $33.5 million borrowed from Middlesex County -- in an escrow account upon condemnation last year.
"I think there are a lot of lawyers making a lot of money off of this," O'Brien said. "There's great latitude in how land in need of redevelopment is zoned. But we offered fair market value."
National Lead appealed Longhi's determination that the value of the property should be based on industrial zoning that was in effect when the borough condemned the land. That litigation is pending.
"We don't care what they do with the land as long as they pay us the fair value that the Constitution requires," Gibson said. "In the United States, there are laws that make it so that nobody can take your property without compensating you fairly first."
The $33.5 million that SERA put in escrow represents the value of the land in addition to estimated cleanup costs, although a more recent study found that the cleanup would be even more expensive.
TRC Raviv Associates Inc., a company based in Millburn that specializes in the evaluation of contaminated sites, concluded the cleanup costs have risen to $42 million, primarily because of the expense of disposing radioactive dirt.
In 2002, the borough's redevelopment agency offered National Lead $4 million, based on an appraisal made by Norman J. Goldberg Inc. of West Caldwell and an expert's estimate that the cost of cleanup would cost $28 million.
The county arrived at the $4 million figure by deducting the estimated $28 million from the $32 million appraised value of the property.
Randy Corman, executive director of the borough's redevelopment agency, said Longhi later determined that the agency couldn't offer a number based on fair market value as if the land were clean.
Corman said National Lead has never presented a concrete number for how much the land is worth.
While both sides continue to haggle over the value of the land, they are still arguing over who will end up with the responsibility to clean up the site.
Though government officials have said the company has been "dragging their feet" on the cleanup and sale of their property, Gibson attributes the tardy cleanup to delayed responses from the state Department of Environmental Protection. National Lead wants to maintain cleanup rights, he said.
"The truth is, the DEP has taken longer than it takes to have a baby, an average of 310 days, to respond to any report we've submitted," Gibson said. "With all due respect, National Lead is better at cleanup. We're more efficient and cost-effective and it would waste a lot of time, effort and money if the responsibility was turned over that would add extra cost for either LNR or the taxpayers."
DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said each case is dealt with on an individual basis.
"It doesn't take 310 days -- wherever that number came from -- for the DEP to respond to submissions," Makatura said. "That number is not an accurate assessment of how long it takes."
Cleanup responsibilities currently fall on National Lead. But borough officials hope LNR will take over the cleanup.
"Sure, we'd prefer LNR to take over cleanup," Corman said. "NL has no approved cleanup plan."
Gibson said he received one call from Bill Ryan, project manager for LNR, about three weeks ago, requesting a meeting. He said the company is open to negotiation if the land's actual value is recognized.
Representatives for LNR could not be reached for comment.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:50 PM
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