Developers Buy 240-Acre Tract for $60M

Developable portions of the Hilltop tract, as it's called, have been proposed for everything from recreational facilities to a jail in recent years. Under a proposal offered by the buyers – K. Hovnanian Enterprises of Red Bank, NJ, Roseland Property Co. of Short Hills, NJ and Century 21 Construction of Newark – those 240 acres will eventually house nearly 1,200 residential units. Most of that total – 980 units – will be age-restricted multifamily residential. Another 18 units will be townhouses, and the plan also calls for nearly 170 single-family homes.

The Hilltop tract actually sprawls across four suburban Essex County towns – Caldwell, North Caldwell, Cedar Grove and Verona. Besides the $60 million land sale, Cedar Grove officials have an offer on the table to buy three small parcels for recreational use for just under $1.5 million.

"This sale is good for the economy, for the environment and for taxpayers," county executive James Treffinger said at a press conference at the Essex County Hall of Records in Newark. According to Treffinger, the county will use its windfall to retire nearly $45 million in bond debt. Use of the remaining $15 million was not specified.

Under the terms of the deal, the development trio has also agreed to pay site demolition costs, said to be in the $10 million range. Hovnanian, Roseland and Century 21 will also pay for an environmental audit of the site, plus any remediation that becomes necessary.

The timeline of the proposed residential development is tied to finalizing the sale, which actually involves closing on five individual parcels. The development partners hope to break ground on a parcel in North Caldwell later this 2002, and a parcel in neighboring Cedar Grove in early 2003.