A proposal to partially redevelop a 51-acre tract next to the Pulaski Skyway and the New Jersey Turnpike recently moved forward when members of the Newark Central Planning Board voted to approve a site plan for the project.
Members of the board voted unanimously on August 31st to approve the partial redevelopment of 151-155 and 27-117 Raymond Boulevard in the city’s Central Ward, according to a report in TAPinto Newark.
The application from 151 Raymond Blvd LLC calls for redeveloping 29.34 acres into a parking lot for up to 360 truck and tractor-trailers and 16 employee parking spaces. The applicant intends to make 44 of those spaces suitable for electric vehicles.
The proposal also calls for two container storage areas with 24 spaces, where shipping containers can be stacked up to four containers high, and store up to 96 individual containers.
A review of the plan from the Central Planning Board shows that the applicant intends to deliver two paved parking areas along the eastern portion of the site, which fronts the Passaic River, and the northern portion of the site. The applicant will build an access road that connects the eastern portion of the site to Raymond Boulevard at the southwestern corner, and three unpaved parking areas that will abut the main paved parking area to the east of the site.
The review shows that a gravel road along the western edge of the lot will be paved and widened to 35 feet to connect the paved parking lot and two container storage areas on the northern edge of the property to the main entrance. A second access road will connect the northern parking and container storage areas to the main paved parking area and two unpaved parking areas on the eastern side of the site. A third access road from Raymond Boulevard will connect the four paved and unpaved parking areas on the eastern section of the site.
The report notes that 151 Raymond Blvd LLC also proposed a pedestrian walkway along the southern edge of the site, running from the Raymond Boulevard access road to a seating area by the Passaic River.
A PSEG generating station and existing infrastructure will remain on-site, while the two vacant buildings along the northern edge of the property will be part of the redevelopment.
The board review states that the partial redevelopment requires three variances for screening material and lighting, plus two design waivers for parking shade coverage and the parking lot vegetative buffer.
The report in TAPinto Newark notes that the applicant and site owner have not selected a tenant for the parking lot, but the development sits in a bustling industrial neighborhood. The project site is down the road from another vehicle-parking proposal approved by the city’s planning board in April 2023. Another project, which calls for a new 24,000-square-foot industrial warehouse with loading bays and solar panels, is also down the street from the 51-acre site. The board approved that project in February 2024.
