March 21, 2014 [NorthJersey.com] - In a move that will free up prime waterfront real estate for redevelopment, Hess Corp. is in negotiations to sell three of its former so-called "tank farms," or terminals, in Edgewater, Bogota and Secaucus as it exits the retail end of the oil business.
The oil company’s roughly 15-acre site in Edgewater is on the Hudson River, and represents one of the few vestiges of the borough’s industrial roots. The property at 615 River Road is also one of the few pieces of land on Edgewater’s portion of the Gold Coast that is available for redevelopment, real estate sources said, and as such is considered a premium location.
“Edgewater waterfront property is going to be as valuable as any property in Bergen County,” said William Hanson, president of NAI James E. Hanson, a Hackensack real estate firm. “Aside from the Jersey City or Hoboken waterfront, I can’t imagine a place where you’re going to get more value.”
Hess also is selling its tank site at 229 West Fort Lee Road, Bogota, on the Hackensack River. It has two parcels of about five acres at that location, shaped like a slice of pie, which is right over the river from Hackensack.
Finally, the oil giant is selling two parcels, one a former tank site, at 35 Meadowland Parkway and 34 Meadowland Parkway, both in the Harmon Cove development in Secaucus. The properties total about 9.5 acres, with most of that acreage on the Hackensack River. The tanks have been removed and the land is now vacant.
No asking prices have been set for the properties.
Some see Hess’s sale of its properties as a once-in-a-generation strategic move that will free up land that’s been locked up for decades, allowing the public access to the waterways. One real estate broker called Hess’s Edgewater property the largest undeveloped waterfront site north of Hoboken.
But developers will likely have to remediate the tank sites and will have to win local approval for their redevelopment plans.
Hess is selling the three industrial properties because it is exiting the terminal business, said company spokesman Denny Moynihan said. Last March, the company announced plans to divest its gas stations.
As for where talks stood with potential buyers for the three tank farms, Moynihan said, “There is no resolution yet.”
Hess’s facilities were placed on waterways so that barges could deliver fuel to them, to be stored for pickup by tanker trucks for distribution. Edgewater Borough Administrator Greg Franz said that Hess had closed down its tank operation on River Road about a year ago, draining all its tanks.
“They ran a very clean facility … their safety record, I think, was impeccable,” Franz said.
During the past two or three months borough officials have received inquiries about the Hess site, he added.
Hess’s Bogota tank facility, which was decommissioned last year, is at what is essentially the gateway of the borough from Hackensack.
“We’d love to see it redeveloped down there,” Bogota Mayor Antero “Tito” Jackson said. “Obviously, it would bring much-needed ratables into the town.” A redevelopment of the property could create “an Edgewater” along the Hackensack River, he said.
River Development LLC, based in Red Bank, is interested in Hess’s Bogota property, said the firm’s principal, Warren Waters. His company is purchasing 250-300 West Fort Lee Road, the former Sifford Pontiac eight-acre property that’s adjacent to the Hess tract.
River Development is asking the borough to declare that property as an area of redevelopment, and has preliminary plans for a multifamily development of 300 units of high-end one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, Borough Administrator Chip Greiner said. The project, called The River Club, would have a river walk, Waters said.
Waters is interested in the Hess land for redevelopment.
“There’s a much better use for that property location than just as a terminal,” said Waters, who added that the land would need remediation and additional infrastructure – drains, sewers and electrical connections.
The Hess parcels in Secaucus are at the Route 3 bridge entrance to Harmon Cove, and have been vacant for decades, said Gus Milano, managing director of Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. in Secaucus.
“I think there’s opportunities in this market for something to happen there finally, because they [the two parcels] are blighted-looking,” Milano said. “They are at the gateway to Meadowland Parkway, so I think everyone is interested in seeing something built there to improve the whole image of the area.”
