City Officials Approve $2.5 Billion Waterfront Development in Sayreville, New Jersey

Aerial view of Riverton - North American PropertiesAerial view of Riverton - North American Properties

The Sayreville Planning Board has approved construction of a waterfront community that will soon become one of the largest redevelopment projects in New Jersey history. Known simply as Riverton, the multi-phase development will occupy 418 acres near the Driscoll Bridge along the Raritan River.

North American Properties and Prudential Global Investment Management, the development team behind Riverton, was unanimously granted approvals by the planning board on December 10 and was applauded for the anticipated transformational effects of the project.

Site map off the Riverton development - North American Properties

Site map off the Riverton development – North American Properties

The full scope of the development includes 1.5 million square feet of retail, nearly 2 million square feet of office space, an 800,000-square-foot hotel and conference center, up to 2,000 apartment units, and a 400-slip marina. Phase One of the project, which could break ground this year, includes nearly 250,000 square feet of retail, 70,000 square feet of dining area, a nine-story office building, a ten-story hotel, and a 48,000-square-foot conference center.

Bass Pro Shops will occupy 200,000 square feet of the retail component, while a portion of the residences will be reserved for affordable housing.

Views within the Riverton development - North American Properties

Views within the Riverton development – North American Properties

Retail corridor within the Riverton development - North American Properties

Retail corridor within the Riverton development – North American Properties

The property once served as a National Lead Industries paint manufacturing plant but has sat vacant and mostly unused for more than a decade. During this time, the city began an exhaustive remediation plan to remove hazardous constituents from the existing soil. That process is only partially complete.

The entire project, valued at approximately $2.5 billion, could take another decade to complete due to ongoing remediation efforts and an open lawsuit launched by the Raritan Baykeeper and Edison Wetlands against National Lead Industries. Depending on the outcome of the suit, National Lead Industries could be held liable for costs related to the environmental remediation.

For now, city officials and the development team remain hopeful that a portion of the Riverton development will open by 2021.

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17 Comments on "City Officials Approve $2.5 Billion Waterfront Development in Sayreville, New Jersey"

  1. It's Jon Bon Jovi's hometown! | January 4, 2020 at 10:03 am | Reply

    *Sayreville

  2. Being a Sayreville resident for more than 25 years this is exactly why I’m leaving this state for Pennsylvania . Looks so beautiful on paper doesn’t it ! Increased taxes absolutely no where to put the traffic . Just waiting for the ultimate in snail crawling bumper to bumper traffic on Route 9 south . Local feeder roads that residents use to hop skip from Main street to Bordentown road and Ernston will not be given any mercy as congestion will consume them too. This nightmare is financially vonderbar for for the politicians but another way to force out the older folk do to ever increasing taxes . Good riddens N.J .

  3. David in Bushwick | January 4, 2020 at 9:30 pm | Reply

    Build it and sell it now before it gets flooded.

  4. So they can’t just let that land return to its natural state along the river? God forbid we leave an inch of ground unexploited. Instead, we need a massive development complex that will fill up with Indian H-1B workers.

    • <<>>

      Not sure how the ethnicity is relevant, but software development (like finance, etc) seems to be a pretty good employment sector for other communities. Lures well-educated, high-earning employees and doesn’t create much stress to the community.

    • Interesting how you start off with two sentences advocating a reasonable position yet in the third you get racist and xenophobic.

    • Racist much?

  5. Sayreville was spelled incorrectly through the whole article.

  6. That’s a big gamble after what Sandy did to the Bayshore…

  7. What portion will be for affordable housing? It is good for investors to know how much extra they will pay for people that can’t afford to live there otherwise.

  8. Right across the river from 2 power plants (comming), a asphalt plant, a DPW garage near a recycler too.

  9. Eric Schnittman | January 8, 2020 at 12:52 pm | Reply

    If I’m not mistaken, a lot of the acreage is considered Brownfields, loaded with contaminants and carcinogenic materials. Based upon the half lives of these substances, I would be very careful about having my loved ones eat, shop and God forbid live on top of this dung heap. Caveat emptor

  10. Dear People of Sayreville & Central NJ,
    My Name is Frank. I grew up in the 1960’s & 70’s in Rahway. I am 5th Generation from the area with my forefathers moving here in the mid 1800’s and owning a good amount of land in Rahway & also living from Jersey City to Perth Amboy & Keasby. My Grandfather from a family of 14 & My Mother a Family of 12.

    I wanted to be in Disclosure as to Where I Come From & Exactly Why I Am Submitting This Letter To All, Possibly Affected, Communities of The Raritan Bay Area to be Affected by The Possible Long Term Effects Of This Massive Project.
    One that Most New Jersey Citizens, In My Personal Opinion, Have Really Zero Clue About Nor Have Had Been Given Any Fair Chance To Voice Their legal Opinion About Its Construction.
    Now, There Was a Questioner Put Out in 2019 by Some Concerned Sayreville Resident or an Unknown Organization that Attempted to Get The Opinions of Sayreville Residents about the Proposed Project. This Questioner, The Officials Attempted To Intercept & put out Notice to The Citizens to Ignore it & also telling Them that it’s purpose was to bring trouble to the project & pretty much Scare Them…. Yet, it was a survey of Pretty Basic Simple Questions about How The Townspeople Really Felt & just How Much They Were Really Aware Of.. So, What Was So Wrong With A Simple Survey as That?
    This is why I Choose to Start Off This Way, So that Cannot Happen With My Letter Of Concern. So to continue,
    Thank-You for caring to read this to this point.
    I Remember in the late 1960’s & early 70’s when going over the Edison Bay Bridge was a Horrible ordeal . Full of Stinky & Dirty Water. My Parents took us to Keansburg Boardwalk in summers & my Dad would take us on the beach and show us the pollution & dead oil soaked birds along the shore.
    Then, all during the late 1970’s & 80’s things began to change. NJ Political partys during those times actually cared about cleaning up Our States waterways & Got It Done.
    I Never Saw A Blue Herion or Stork or even Terns as a kid around here.. But By 1990s They Were Returning. The Mouth of The Raritan River was Cleaning up itself Naturally & The Reeds Began to Re-grow
    and Birds were Again Nesting along the River Mouth & Bay Estuary..
    The Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s saw the State of NJ as a Main Forerunner, But They were unaware of the Ecological Disaster they were unleashing. An area Once Brimming Full of Edible Fish, Oysters, Mussels and Clams was Ruined within 50 years.
    We have Corrected and Nature has Begun Reversing Alot of those Problems over the past 50 Years & I and My Children have finally been able to watch the water fowl return & enjoy somewhat fishing where just 30 years ago you could not.
    But Now It Appears That They Have Not Learned From The Past.. Once Again They Want To Take Away What 50 Years Of Ecological change & committed progress towards cleaner waterways has created.
    Can Anyone who has lived in NJ since the 1980’s Deny the Transformation that has
    taken place?
    Now I Fully Support New Jobs for NJ and Managed Growth. But to take an Important Ecological Site like The Mouth of a Large River where it dumps into a Bay & Remove the Bank lands of Reed which Naturally Filters Pollution from the waters & Provides Scarce Nesting Habitat for Aqatic Waterfowl is just Senseless in these modern times when We All Should By Now Realize The Consequence of it.
    We Have Already Seen It’s Effects!
    I & ,I Believe, a Lot of NJ Citizens, Especially those who live near the project have some Important Questions To Ask & Have Honestly Answered.
    Such As…
    – Where will the Drainage Runoff from all the Tarred Roadways & Parking Lots End Up & Drained Into?
    – What About The Hundreds of Acres of Fertilized Lawns That Will Require Chemical Treatments Yearly & Its Runoff?
    – Will a Processing Plant To Collect & Filter This Water, Before It Enters The River/Bay, Be Required?
    – If Somehow Not, What Effect Will This All Have on The Bay Area in Time?
    The Oxygen levels of the water,
    Pulluants From Runoff,
    And The Effects It Will Have On Fish & Shellfish Populations?
    – Is Publicly Available Research & Study Documentation Present for The People of The State To Review?
    – And What About 7000+ New Housing Units & All Those People & Their Cars? How Many More people ? How many More Cars.

    Now, These Large Mega Corporate Construction Companies Always Promise To Bring The “Best of the Best” to Every Town & State that they see a Profit in Buying up Property & Starting A Project. They Always Talk of Lower Tax’s & Finer Living for those of The Community.

    But This Talk is Old By Now.
    These Days, We Have All Witnessed How that NEVER Happens in The Long Term & Instead Towns Just Have to pay More & More in Tax’s to Maintain the Infastructure of the Community.
    Bigger Schools, More Roads to Maintain, Sewage Systems Etc Etc…
    Plus the Added Stress to locals lives dealing with Added Congestion & The Eventual Disappearance of Local Open Land, Orchards & Flower Farms.

    Is This Really The Ideal Location, Economically & Ecologically, To Build A Project of This Size & Scope?
    Or Will The Future Generations of This Area Just Have To Deal With It’s Issues, Once Again, 50 Years From Now Because We Could Not Stand Up & Force Them To Just Leave The Land Alone. To Leave A Clean Zone Buffer Around The Shores Of Our Waterways,
    The Way Nature Intended & Really Does Need.

    7000 Residential units Alone can equate to Possibly 28,000 or more people with 10,000 plus More Automobiles using our already densely populated area.

    Is That A Good Thing For Our Future?

    If You Would Like To Participate in Any Way to Attempt To Halt Any Further River Habitat Destruction of The Edison River Until We Can Here & Read All The Facts From Different Sides, Opponents & Project Officials,
    Please Send Your Desired Contact Info along with Any Advice or Aid You May be able to provide to;

    [email protected]

    Thank You.

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