Harrison Township’s proposal for 10 warehouses, a hotel and apartments is causing confusion among residents

A massive mixed-use project that would include 10 warehouses, a 100-room hotel and 200 residential units has run into resistance in Harrison Township, Gloucester County.

Some residents of the borough’s Richwood neighborhood — a rural area along Route 322, just west of Route 55 — are concerned about the prospect of a five-phase, 385-acre development.

The proposal by a subsidiary of Active Acquisitions, a North Jersey real estate firm that focuses on warehouses, would also include a large retail “buyer’s club.” The entire project would take 20 years to complete.

Company representatives did not respond to emails and voicemails Friday. Residents say they plan to attend a regular community committee meeting Monday.

“It looks like we’re going to be living in chaos for 20 years, with roads being built and storage,” said Stacy Staino, 49, a substitute teacher and mother of two who has lived in Richwood for a decade.

“One of the reasons we moved here is because of the openness and the farmland,” Staino said. “Now they want to put houses right behind my house and warehouses all the way down to 322.”

Her neighbour, Jason Daniel, 46, a research and development manager and father of two sons, said: “We moved here eight years ago with the expectation that while there might be some development nearby, it would be in keeping with the character of the area and would benefit the people who live here.

“Instead, this proposed development seems to be at odds with what the people who live here want,” he said. “The development is built around warehouses, and if they take up so much of our open space with these … monoliths, it will be difficult to preserve the character of Richwood.”

Mayor Louis Manzo says they have high standards for warehouses

In an interview Friday, Mayor Louis Manzo said the proposed investment is a continuation of two previous projects that did not produce any results.

“Our original vision was for a mixed-use center in Richwood with retail, but the world has changed. That property has fallen into disrepair. Now, we’re building warehouses, and we’re very aware of the resistance to warehouses.”

Richwood’s proposal is the second warehouse development effort the borough has faced in recent years. In 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled against Harrison’s denial of an application to build warehouses on a suitably zoned lot in the Mullica Hill section on the city’s west side.

“I believe this (development) plan will come to fruition,” Manzo said.

Warehouse development is also permitted in the zoning that covers the 385-acre property. He also said the Richwood community redevelopment plan — changed several years ago to allow for a soccer facility — was recently changed again at the request of longtime owner MadisonMarquette.

The Washington, D.C.-based real estate firm “wanted to be able to go to market and sell,” Manzo said. Company representatives could not be reached for comment Friday.

Manzo said, “We set high standards for warehouses at Richwood in terms of aesthetics, buffering and embankments.

“Our vision now is to avoid getting sued (for denying fair use) and having a developer build something that we have no control over.”

Pressure on warehouses grows in southern New Jersey

Harrison Borough, with a population of 13,641 spread over 19 square miles, has transformed in recent decades from a primarily agricultural community to a suburban community.

With easy access to Route 55, I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike, Harrison and other Philadelphia-area communities like it are facing pressure from warehouse developers who have been forced out of north and central Jersey.

» READ MORE: INSATIABLE DEMAND Since 2020, the Philadelphia area has added 55 million square feet of warehouse space. Here’s how it’s changing jobs, traffic and landscapes.

Warehouses continue to be proposed and built along major highways in the Northeast Corridor, despite the fact that some have begun construction without signed leases and others sit empty. However, communities such as Burlington Township, Burlington County have convinced developers to add restaurants and retail stores to their warehouse proposals.

Some residents, including the 380 members of the Richwood Redevelopment Neighbors and Friends Facebook group, which has been active for two weeks, said they were surprised not only to hear about the project and its scope, but also that it appears to be well into the city’s review and approval process, as first reported by the website 42Freeway.

Jason Daniel was one of several Richwood residents who attended the Sept. 5 meeting of the borough’s Joint Zoning Board, which approved the “General Development Plan” submitted by Active Acquisitions.

“How did we get here?” he asked on Friday.

He and others said they hope to get answers at Monday’s City Commission meeting at 7 p.m.