A 243,525 square foot warehouse project heads to the Woolwich Township Joint Land Use Board for approval. That JLUB hearing is set for Thursday February 15th at 7:00 PM.
Additionally, the Woolwich Quarterly Town Hall is set for today (Monday Feb 12th at 6:30pm) which I understand is an opportunity for residents to speak with Township committee on any topic.
Note: Article was updated 60 minutes after initial publishing to add clarification to Redevelopment Agreement and prior meetings
The warehouse is proposed for the Route 322 warehouse district, and will be developed across the street from other recently developed warehouses.
The property for the development is a 28 acre plot of land formed at the intersection of Route 322 and Oak Grove Rd. While the address is listed as 242 Oak Grove Rd, the building will actually run in line with Route 322. There will be entrances to the property from both 322 and Oak Grove Rd.
Within the building it will include two warehouse office areas (combined 16,000sf of office space). There will be 57 loading dock spaces, 169 passenger vehicle parking spaces and 109 trailer parking spaces.
The project will include storm water management facilities, landscaping, buffering, sound attenuation walls, earthen berms, and a flag pole entry plaza.
The project is being proposed by “2024 Oak Grove Road Woolwich, LLC” which based on the associated address and contact name appears to be the Ferber Development Company of North Jersey
I see no indication as to who the actual tenant would be for the building. It is possible that they are building this “on spec” which means they gain the necessary approvals and may even develop the building.. in hopes of then finding a tenant.
The developers have been working on this project for some time. As an example there are Department of Environmental Protection Agency documents online which reference this project’s application having been received by the DEP back in April of 2023. Checking via Google Search, I do not see any documents related to this project at the Woolwich Township website until July of 2023.
Joint Land Use Meeting – Redevelopment Process
The land where this project is being developed is part of a Woolwich Township Redevelopment Zone. New Jersey redevelopment laws allows towns to identify areas within the municipality which are underdeveloped and under utilized, and then create specific zoning rules and other well defined aspects specific to the zone, in an effort to entice developers to invest in new projects for that area.
In my mind, it’s somewhat similar to a person buying a beat up old home that no one wants, and then investing time and money into making it more attractive in hopes of finding a buyer. Likewise, for a Municipality redevelopment zone they are taking underutilized properties and improving them by redefining what can be built there (and other aspects), in hopes of making it more attractive to developers to invest in projects.
A smart idea actually!
In December, Woolwich Township approved the redeveloper agreement, and the JLUB meeting is for the final approval.
More to come as I research
Links and Location
2024 Oak Grove Road Woolwich, LLC – Proposed Warehouse
242 Oak Grove Rd (and Rt 322)
Woolwich NJ
Joint Land Use Board Hearing
Thursday, February 15, 2024 7:00 p.m
Township of Woolwich Municipal Building
120 Village Green Drive
Woolwich Township, New Jersey 08085