Developer Cancels Warehouse Plan for Hercules Site in Roxbury

ROXBURY, NJ – Nearly two years after proposing a massive warehouse project for the former Hercules explosives site in Kenvil, the company behind the endeavor no longer wants to do it.

On July 19, Hartz Mountain Industries, of Secaucus, withdrew its application for zoning relief, an application that has been the topic of numerous lengthy Roxbury Planning Board meetings.

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The company gave no reason for its change of heart, not even to Steven Mlenak, the lawyer who has been appearing on its behalf before the board, according to Mlenak.

“They just decided not to proceed,” he said. Mlenak said the decision to withdraw the application was told to the township in “a very short letter,” one that was kept secret for a week by township officials. However, the fact that the project was in trouble was indicated by the recent disappearance of a Roxbury Commerce Center website that Hartz Mountain published in late 2022.

Interviewed today, Roxbury Planning Board Chairman Charles Bautz said Hartz Mountain’s decision took him by surprise. “It blows my mind,” he said. “I have no idea why they would pull it.”

Mlenak and Roxbury planning experts engaged in some heated back-and-forth at the board’s June 4 meeting – with Hartz Mountain being told the planning board might not have the authority to grant the zoning relief being sought.

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At the meeting, Roxbury planners Russell Stern and Joseph Burgis said Hartz Mountain actually needed a zone change, not just a variance. They said the Roxbury Mayor and Council, not the planning board, has the power to enact zone changes.

However, Mlenak said he didn’t think the June 4 discussion, or anything else done by township officials, played a part in Hartz Mountain’s decision to abandon the project.

“This project was very large in scale, with a lot of moving pieces, approvals and market realities,” said the lawyer. “I can’t get into the mind of my client.”

A person who would know the rationale for abandoning the effort, Hartz Mountain Industries Vice President of Land Use and Development Jay Rhatican, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Bautz said he didn’t think the board mistreated Hartz in any way. “I’m sure they spent a good amount of money (on lawyers, engineers and other experts). “We do a fair job. I have no answers. I’m as shocked as you are.”

Hartz Mountain wanted to build five warehouses that would have encompassed 2.5 million square feet on about 200 acres of the 1,000-acre tract between Howard Boulevard and Berkshire Valley Road. The land, owned by Hercules LLC, is the largest undeveloped commercially-zoned parcel in Morris County, but it is riddled with pollution from more than a century of use as an explosives development and manufacturing site.

To proceed with the proposed “Roxbury Commerce Center,” the company needed relief from zoning restrictions that limited the area of buildings to no more than 60 percent warehousing. Hartz Mountain’s planned structures would have been about 90 percent warehouse and about 10 percent office space.

Asked if Hartz Mountain is envisioning litigation against Roxbury, Mlenak said he’s not heard of such a plan. Asked if he thinks the company might come back with a revised idea, Mlenak’s response was simply, “Never say never.”

More on this topic:

Roxbury Warehouse Proponents Irked by 11th-Hour Venue Question

Decision in May Possible for Warehouse Project on Hercules Tract in Roxbury

Developer: Warehouses on Hercules Site Would Rain Tax Money on Roxbury

Tradesmen Tout Benefits to Roxbury of Hercules Site Warehouses

Roxbury Fears Impact on Town of Hercules Site Warehouses

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