Quick Facts
Historic abandoned and blighted landfill site contaminated by construction and demolition debris as well as dredge spoils
Preserved 10.7 acres of wetlands in an urban area
Created over 100 permanent jobs, incorporating first source employment efforts to qualified residents and businesses within the city
Transaction
Land (acres)
28.9
Project Outcome
279,200 square foot Class A warehouse
Seller/Responsible Party
Wakefern Food Corp.
Historical Use
Landfill/Dump Site for Historic Fill
Capital Partner
Clarion Partners
Buyer
Clarion Partners
Tenant(s)
Amazon and others
Until 1950, the site was used as a dump site for construction and demolition debris. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers used the site for the disposal of dredge spoils. The site was impacted by contamination characteristics of a historic fill site. Later the site was acquired by Wakefern Food for potential development but due to geotechnical and environmental challenges, it remained undeveloped. The site was identified by the Port Authority of NY/NJ and the NJ Economic Development Authority as a Portsfield Initiative site, created to redevelop underutilized brownfield sites.
The 28.9-acre property is located on Dowd Avenue in Elizabeth, adjacent to New Jersey Turnpike Exit 13A at the southern tip of Newark Airport and near the Ports of Elizabeth and Newark. Viridian acquired the site and secured entitlements for the development of a Class A 290,400 square foot distribution warehouse. Viridian completed remediation, soil stabilization and mass grading to deliver the project in graded and remediated “pad-ready” condition to Clarion Partners for vertical development.
Viridian took on all environmental liability and entered into a voluntary remediation agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Viridian worked with the City of Elizabeth, Union County, the NJDEP, the NJ Economic Development Authority, and the Port Authority of NY/NJ on an integrated remediation and repositioning plan that included capping of the site with 50,000 cubic yards of processed dredge material (PDM) while conserving 11-acres of wetlands. Additionally, poor soils conditions for support of a modern warehouse proved an additional challenge; a combination of dynamic compaction and surcharging provided a cost-effective solution that allowed the final building to be supported on shallow foundations. Viridian structured the remediation plan to utilize the vertical development as the final engineering control and the site successfully obtained soils and groundwater closure upon completion of the vertical development.
