Cranford Reaches Agreement With Developer of 750 Walnut Ave.

CRANFORD, NJ — The week before Christmas, Cranford Mayor Patrick Giblin announced that the Township of Cranford has reached a settlement with Hartz Mountain to develop their property at 750 Walnut Ave. at a density far less than their original 2018 application to build 900 units.

That application was denied by the Planning Board in 2019. After a year of negotiations between the township and the developer, they decided to split the 30-acre property into a 240,000 square-foot warehouse and 250 residential units.

"The residential component will have 212 market rate units and 38 affordable units," Giblin announced on Dec. 18. "The Township expects that Hartz will request a 30-year PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) but only for the residential site and the commercial portion will pay conventional property taxes."

In a PILOT, the developer makes an agreement with the town to pay each year, rather than being subject to fluctuating taxes.

In addition, Hartz Mountain and the Township of Cranford have mutually agreed to dismiss all the pending litigation between each other.

The Fairness and Compliance Hearing for the settlement will be held April 12, 2021.

The draft settlement resolution can be found here, as can the settlement summary and proposed PILOT agreement.

The town held a "town hall" about the project last month.

A group called Cranford Residents Against Overdevelopment had criticized the original plan.

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