SAYREVILLE, NJ-The Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency has unanimously picked O'Neill Properties to redevelop a contaminated 430-acre waterfront site here. The King of Prussia, PA-based company was chosen over competing bids from developers Riverbend Metropolitan, LCOR and Forest City Enterprises.
The decision is actually the second involving SERA and the site. In early 2006, the agency picked a joint venture of Market Street Investors and LNR Northeast Investment to redevelop the project, but subsequent negotiations aimed at signing a final deal eventually fell apart.
"This is an important step forward," says SERA chairman Ray Travisano. "We had an intense competition, and the result is a proposal that will provide lasting benefits for the community."
The estimated price tag has been placed at in excess of $1 billion and the project will encompass more than three million sf of retail space in a combination of lifestyle and big-box users. Also part of the plan are a marina, performing arts center and outdoor theater, a waterfront promenade and 2,000 housing units. The latest plan has more than double the retail space of the 2006 proposal, and less than half of the residential units of that plan. The latest plan also lacks the hotels of the previous one.
A major portion of the residential component is expected to be age-restricted in order to limit the number of school-age children. As part of their proposal, O'Neill officials have agreed to help pay for any additional school facilities that are required in the community.
O'Neill's proposal also calls for the company to buy the site for $91.5 million, with a down payment of $42 million due in December. Another $8 million is due in March to clear title to a section of the property, with the rest of the money due at a date to be determined.
The site is surrounded on three sides by water, namely the Raritan River and Raritan Bay. It's bisected by routes 9 and 35, and by the Garden State Parkway, including the Driscoll Bridge, which carries the superhighway across the Raritan River.
The initial challenge will be to remediate large portions of the site, used by National Lead for many years for the manufacture of paint products. The cost and control of the remediation has been a source of ongoing litigation between National Lead, the Borough of Sayreville and the New Jersey DEP. The site came into the possession of SERA through condemnation proceedings, and SERA will use part of the purchase price from O'Neill to repay a $37 million loan from Middlesex County used to carry out those condemnation proceedings.
O'Neill Properties has a track record of redeveloping contaminated sites, including major projects in Pennsylvania, Delaware and in the Boston area. Company officials could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.
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