WOODCLIFF LAKE—The Borough Council on Dec. 10 unanimously approved a financial agreement for the 370-unit redevelopment at 300 Chestnut Ridge Road, a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) expected to generate slightly more than $106 million for Woodcliff Lake over 30 years.
The council also approved a modified redevelopment agreement with RW Woodcliff Lake Urban Renewal LLC that will bring the borough up-front payments before regular PILOT revenues begin from the 47 townhouses and 297 apartments, likely closer to project completion around 2030.
Under the agreement, the borough will receive between 10% and 15% of annual gross revenues from the apartment units over a 30-year PILOT, and a 20-year PILOT on the townhouses.
For more than two hours, auditor Paul Lerch of Lerch, Vinci & Bliss and special counsel Wendy Quiroga briefed officials and a full room at the Tice Senior Center on the details of the agreement.
Nearly 20 residents raised concerns about the PILOT and the approved development, which includes 297 apartments, 47 townhouses, a 26-unit (40-bed) supportive housing building, and two retail buildings totaling nearly 9,000 square feet.
Quiroga said PILOT payments would not reduce school funding, noting that school districts adopt and fund their own budgets independently. She said the borough may choose to use a portion of PILOT revenues to assist the school district with capital projects that might otherwise require a referendum.
Officials said the PILOT could help stabilize municipal taxes.
Council President Joshua Stern said securing the agreement allowed the borough greater control over redevelopment at the former 20-acre BMW property, noting that developers are increasingly using affordable-housing statutes to propose dense housing in communities statewide. He said one developer initially suggested building 600–700 units on the site, and that eight months of negotiations produced the 370-unit project that meets affordable housing obligations.
Some residents questioned the borough’s transparency, noting the full PILOT agreement was first presented publicly on Dec. 10, despite the measure being introduced Nov. 10. Pascack Press requested a copy of the agreement on Nov. 11 but did not receive one.
Councilwoman Jennifer Margolis said no one wanted to see major employers such as BMW, Hilton, or Party City close and leave town, “but it happened.” Mayor Carlos Rendo has previously said the 370-unit plan was “the best that we could do” given development pressures and affordable housing mandates.
Rendo also noted that BMW’s pending tax appeals—totaling more than $13 million—would have posed a significant fiscal challenge without the negotiated PILOT with RW Woodcliff Lake Urban Renewal LLC, a partnership of Russo Development and Woodmont Properties.