The Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency is moving forward with a plan to overhaul the city’s Department of Public Works facility on Fayette Street via a public-private partnership with a redeveloper.
The project was prompted by an administrative consent order from the state Department of Environmental Protection requiring the city to remediate a municipal landfill that was closed in 1974. The landfill is on the 20-acre DPW site. The city agreed to complete the investigation and remediation by May 7, 2027.
Under the plan, Marmont Perth Amboy LLC will remediate the landfill on the Fayette Street property and, with city and state approval, use the clean parcel to build a 205,000-square-foot cold storage facility. Remediation work is expected to begin in the fall.
To make way for access to the property for commercial use, the redeveloper must relocate buildings on the DPW property, many of which have fallen into disrepair. The redeveloper will:
- Relocate the waste transfer station
- Rehabilitate an existing salt dome and recycling center
- Construct a DPW structure for the city’s building and grounds department
- Build an animal shelter, a traffic operations building, PBA hall and a gun range – all funded privately
Perth Amboy would then generate payments in lieu of taxes from the redeveloper for the cold storage facility.
“This is a classic example of turning trash into cash,” said Perth Amboy Mayor Helmin Caba. “We will generate new revenue, while replacing municipal buildings that are outdated and, in some cases, dilapidated. This is a tremendous win for city taxpayers.”
As part of the plan, just under an acre of green space in the abutting Keasbey section of Woodbridge Township has been incorporated for site access. Woodbridge has agreed to allow Perth Amboy to annex the parcel to make the redevelopment plan a reality.
“We have a terrific relationship with Mayor Caba and his team in the City of Perth Amboy,” said Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac. “We are working together on a number of redevelopment projects at our common borders so if we can help them in any way we certainly will. Local governments should work together like this.”
According to Grand View Research, a market research and consulting company based in San Francisco, the U.S. cold storage market size was valued at $36.91 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.3% from 2023 to 2030.
Growth can be attributed to technological advancements in packaging, processing, and storage of perishable food products and temperature-sensitive items that maximize efficiency and reduce costs. Cold storage operators across the supply chain are investing in urban and suburban micro-fulfillment centers to meet the demand for speed and quality.
