Five Developers Competing for Massive MXD Project

ENGLEWOOD, NJ-This Bergen County city of 25,000 has been lying in the shadow of its smaller neighbor, Englewood Cliffs. The latter has the spectacular Hudson River views and the hefty roster of corporate names, and Englewood wants a piece of the action.

The administration of Mayor Paul Fader is fully behind a plan that would bring a million sf of office space, a major hotel and conference center, several hundred housing units and 50,000 sf or more of retail space to a 60-acre site. The site is currently home to warehouses and light industrial plants, much of the space vacant. Two years ago the City Council approved a plan to have the industrial park declared blighted, allowing the privately owned properties to be consolidated and condemned under state law.

It hasn’t gotten to that point yet, but it could come soon. The city is deep into negotiations with five private development companies competing for the honor of turning the site into a new source of much-needed ratables. The five developers are the survivors of an RFP process the city kicked off last. The negotiations are closed to the public and the identity of the developers hasn’t been made known. Public hearings are on tap once the developer of choice is named.