No cost has been announced by the New Jersey-based IRG for theproject, which encompasses a makeover of three sprawling warehousebuildings totaling nearly a million sf. The site has been vacantfor several years. IRG officials say they are targeting lightmanufacturing and distribution users for the site.

IRG has also signed a deal with the Edison, NJ-based New Jersey& Northern Railway under which the short-haul carrier willrebuild the site's four miles of trackage and subsequently providerail service to and from the complex. Officials of NJNR say it willcost upwards of $2 million to rebuild the on-site rail system,portions of which date back to the early 1900s. NJNR is anaffiliate of Raritan Center Railway LLC and operates rail servicein and out of the 14 million-sf Raritan Center Industrial Park inEdison, NJ.

Work will proceed without planning board approval from thisSomerset County township because, as federal property, the site isbeyond local jurisdiction. As federal property, it's also exemptfrom property taxes, although local officials and IRG are currentlynegotiating property tax payments relating to the fact that it'sbeing converted to private use.