WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—The borough’s Land Use Board on April 11 voted unanimously to recommend that two major vacant parcels — a 21.2-acre tract at the former BMW headquarters and a 20-acre site at the former Woodcliff Lake Hilton — be designated as areas in need of redevelopment.
The recommendations will now return to the Borough Council, which can debate and vote on whether to accept them.
Generally, if approved, the council would create a redevelopment plan for the areas and likely work with developers to meet design and building standards set forth in the plan. A developer’s proposal would then be individually approved by the borough, officials said.
While the former Hilton Hotel property was acquired by Short Hills–based Garden Homes at auction for $50.7 million in early 2024, the BMW property is under contract to Russo Development LLC of Carlstadt, pending future land use approvals.
(See “How best to use Hilton, BMW sites? Council looks at redevelopment options,” by Michael Olohan, Jan. 2, 2025, thepressgroup.net, for prior coverage.)
Mayor Carlos Rendo said the recommendations are a “positive” for the community.
“Both sites had empty properties on them, so these recommendations are beginning a process so that we can control what [future] development goes on them,” Rendo told Pascack Press on April 23. Rendo and Councilwoman Nicole Marsh serve on the board.
“This is a positive for the municipality as we control our own destiny,” he added. Rendo said a council committee is reviewing the entire Tice Boulevard area to determine what future development would best benefit the borough. He noted that any redevelopment must also satisfy the borough’s fourth-round affordable housing obligations.
DMR Architects found that both sites met “Criterion A” of eight statutory conditions for declaring an area in need of redevelopment. That criterion indicates the properties are obsolete, degraded, and no longer suited to their original uses, according to DMR’s reports.
The board’s vote followed two separate investigations by DMR Architects, initiated last fall by the Borough Council after both properties became vacant.
Planner Dan Hauben of DMR Architects provided a detailed overview of conditions at 300 Chestnut Ridge Road (BMW) and 200 Tice Boulevard (Hilton).
Hauben said redevelopment designation could allow the borough to enter into a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with a future developer. PILOT agreements generally provide municipalities with increasing revenue over time, he said.
According to the DMR report, the BMW headquarters at 300 Chestnut Ridge Road ceased operations in February 2024 and was vacated in November 2024, when BMW consolidated operations into three other campus buildings. The structure was described as “substandard” and “obsolescent,” leading to its redevelopment designation under the state’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. The property is zoned for Office Research (OR) use.
At the Hilton site, which formerly housed a 338-room hotel and conference center, investigators found widespread mold and asbestos, requiring mitigation prior to the ongoing demolition. Hauben noted that no asbestos was found at the BMW site.
The DMR report cited a steady deterioration at the Hilton property since its closure and included police reports documenting numerous calls to the site.
Residents can access DMR’s 75-page BMW report and 46-page Hilton report via links on the Land Use Board’s website.
In February 2024, we reported on the Hilton’s closure. See “Redeveloper says it’s acquired ‘distressed’ Woodcliff Lake Hilton property; mayor laments job losses,” by John Snyder and Michael Olohan, thepressgroup.net.
At the time, Rendo said the borough would review not only Tice Boulevard but the broader Broadway Corridor to “see what we can do.” That includes exploring ordinances, redevelopment designations, and supporting the Tice Center, “so that way we don’t keep on losing stores to Montvale,” he said.