Ridgefield Park officials look to develop tract along New Jersey Turnpike [The Record, Hackensack, N.J.]

Sept. 13--RIDGEFIELD PARK -- Village officials are hoping to attract developers to vacant, publicly owned land along the New Jersey Turnpike that they say could reap hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenues annually and stabilize property tax bills.

Development of the 15 acres on Challenger Road would complete a 30-year effort to fully occupy the village-owned parcels in the Overpeck Centre office park, which borders the county's new Overpeck Park.

"Maybe there is a glimmer of hope that this might be the time to see if we could generate any interest," Mayor George Fosdick said. "The way things are going economically, we might not get a response. You just don't know."

The village plans to formally request development proposals for the three non-contiguous parcels this fall. And all ideas are welcome.

"The village is pretty eager to receive offers ... and will be pretty open to hear any proposals for one or all three parcels," said William Betesh, who is working with Village Attorney Martin Durkin on the proposal request.

The Board of Commissioners would review the plans and decide if any are appropriate before entering into negotiations.

The village would retain ownership of the land but envisions signing a long-term lease with a builder who would be responsible for construction, finding tenants and paying property taxes. That is similar to the village's arrangement with Secaucus-based Hartz Mountain Industries, which leases approximately 60 acres for Overpeck Centre.

Overpeck Centre, built by Hartz in the 1980s, has 1.1 million square feet of office space and includes a 12-screen Loews movie theater. The lease of that land brings the village between $400,000 and $500,000 annually, in addition to property taxes, Fosdick said.

Hartz Mountain also had an option to develop the three non-contiguous vacant parcels -- which sit across from and next to a recently built Hilton Garden Inn and between office buildings. That option expired about four years ago without any proposals for the properties, Fosdick said.

In April 2007, developer Avalon Bay proposed a 435-unit luxury rental community on the land, but that deal fell through due to the economic downturn and state mandates that increase construction costs, said Commissioner Margaret "Maggie" Boyd.

Fosdick estimated that annual tax revenues could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars if the parcels are fully developed.

He said more corporate office space is unlikely, citing vacant space in the surrounding office buildings.

"From everything we're seeing, corporate office space is dead," he said.

He added that the newly completed county park could be a draw for residential property owners.

Selling the parcels -- assessed for a combined $22.4 million, according to tax records -- is not an option, he said.

"One thing we have held fast to all along is that both the short-term and long-term interest of the village is to continue to own this property," Fosdick said. "We could be real heroes in the short-term by selling, but the short-term gain is dwarfed by the long-term figure of several hundred thousands of dollars each year."

E-mail: boburg@northjersey.com

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