Hawthorne resting tax relief hopes on Merck property
Friday, May 27, 2011
BY KATIE SOBKO
STAFF WRITER
The Record
HAWTHORNE — Officials and a developer hope major property tax relief lies in the commercial redevelopment potential of a nearly 9-acre vacant lot that was once home to Merck & Co.'s METASOL industrial plant.
Merck's Calgon Corp. plant left the site about five years ago. The land had been declared a Brownfield in the '90s and, as federal environmental law dictates, was cleaned through remediation and has lain fallow since 2004.
"We had been in talks for two years with Kohl's department store. We invested a lot of time on that, but it fell through late last year," Mayor Richard Goldberg said. "Ultimately, they wanted a location on a highway, and Wagaraw Road is not a highway."
Ideally, the property would attract a supermarket, Goldberg said.
"We conducted a shopper survey, and a supermarket was what most shoppers would prefer to have here in town," he said.
The property was last assessed at $1,389,500. A partner in The Bedrin Organization, the property owner and site developer, said there has been a development interest in the land, which would be worth $15 million when commercialized.
"We have shown it to several companies, and some have expressed interest, but it is too early to tell exactly what will happen," said Paul Bedrin, the Bedrin partner. "We hope to bring a deal to the table in the near future."
The site will be developed as soon as that deal is in place.
"It is ready to go. It is clean. The town has zoned it for retail use, so when time is right, we will build a retail center," Bedrin said.
Goldberg acknowledged that in any project like this, there will be some effects on the surrounding area.
"It will have some impact for the area, of course. There may be more traffic. There may also be more noise," he said. "You can't not do this just because of that, though."
He also pointed out that Hawthorne's local government won't be held accountable for all of the accommodations.
"That road gets backed up at times now," Goldberg said. "The developer will have to do something about that."
Officials say there are many positive reasons for potential buyers to consider the space.
"First of all, Hawthorne and the surrounding communities are very dense. There is a population of 500,000 people within five miles, so the demographics are phenomenal," Bedrin said. "Also, this property is in Passaic County, so there are no blue laws, but it is surrounded by Bergen County, Fair Lawn, Ridgewood, Glen Rock. There are customers that want to shop on Sunday but they can't [in Bergen], so they come to Passaic County."
The benefits aren't just for the company moving into the area, but to local taxpayers as well, according to Bedrin.
"In the near future, it will be a very fine development that will add to the community, and it will be a big taxpayer, certainly more than empty land."
Goldberg agreed.
"This will not cost citizens at all," he said. "If anything, residents of Hawthorne would be able to see some tax relief from developing this land."
E-mail: sobko@northjersey.com
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