Hillsborough is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire two vacant properties and keep them as open space to thwart plans to build warehouses at both sites, township officials said last week.
The properties — an 11-acre site on Amwell Road and a 17-acre parcel on Millstone River Road — have been the subject of controversy in the Somerset County community.
Several groups, including Stop Warehouses and Trucks, or SWAT, and Hillsborough Against Industrialization have circulated petitions, attended crowded public hearings and taken to social media to protest pending warehouse applications in recent months.
Hillsborough officials said they are heeding residents’ concerns.
“I am committed to preserving our beautiful land for future generations,” Hillsborogh Deputy Mayor Robert Britting said in a press release. “We will continue to do all that we can to expand our open space, ensuring that the natural beauty of our community remains intact and accessible to all.”
Hillsborough is expanding its open space portfolio, recognizing the importance of reducing truck traffic on residential roadways and preserving natural landscapes for residents, officials said.
The two properties have a total assessed value of approximately $1.4 million. The Amwell Road property has a net value of $444,500 and the Millstone River Road parcel is valued at $958,100, according to public property records.
Local officials did not say what they plan to pay for the properties.
Both the Amwell Road and Millstone River Road properties are owned by JMJ4 ABEEL, a subsidiary of REDCOM Design and Construction, according to information provided by Planning Director David Kois.
The developer had no comment on the pending sale, according to Michael O’Grodnick, the firm’s attorney.
REDCOM is a design, engineering, and general contracting company based in Westfield, according to the developer’s website. The company’s projects include a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Woodbridge, a 50,000-square-foot warehouse in Marlboro, and the renovation of an old building in South Brunswick into a 143,335-square-foot warehouse.
The developer’s proposal for 303 Amwell Road called for an 80,000-square-foot warehouse, which would have been about 150% the size of a football field, according to town records. The application for 1170 Millstone River Road proposed a 114,440-square-foot building.
The acquisition of the Amwell Road and Millstone River Road properties will add nearly 29 additional acres to the township’s open space protected from residential development. The new properties would bring the total open space to nearly 13,242 acres, or about 38% of the township, officials said.
An ordinance is scheduled to be introduced at Tuesday’s township committee meeting that would authorize the purchase of the properties.
READ MORE: Mega-warehouse developer using ‘scare tactics’ in N.J. land fight, residents allege
Hillsborough officials have made other efforts to curb warehouse development in town.
In July, officials approved an ordinance removing warehousing and shipping and receiving facilities as a permitted use in parts of the township. The ordinance is being challenged in two separate lawsuits filed by affected developers. The cases are still pending, according to court documents.
Nearby Franklin Township passed a similar ordinance in the summer of 2022 limiting where warehouses could be built. The township’s ordinance spawned at least six separate lawsuits, which were consolidated within a single suit. The case is still pending, according to court records.
There has been growing opposition to warehouses throughout New Jersey, with heated battles everywhere from Franklin Township up in Somerset County to Harrison Township down in Gloucester County.
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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
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