WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—The Borough Council unanimously approved two resolutions at its June 16 meeting that designate properties at the former Hilton Hotel and a portion of BMW’s headquarters as non-condemnation areas in need of redevelopment, and directed the redevelopment planner to prepare plans for both sites.
The areas were declared in need of redevelopment on April 22 by the Land Use Board, which recommended the designation to the council. The council had previously hired DMR Architects to investigate both sites as potential redevelopment areas.
The two sites represent the largest vacant land tracts in the borough—approximately 20 acres each—and are included in the borough’s Fourth Round affordable housing plan for inclusionary housing. That plan calls for 15% of rental units and 20% of for-sale units in developments over five units to be designated as affordable.
The Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan was scheduled for a joint public hearing and vote by the Land Use Board and Borough Council at a combined June 24 meeting, officials said. (We’ll report on the outcome next week; also check our website, thepressgroup.net.)
At its May 5 meeting, the council passed a resolution appointing Frances Reiner of DMR Architects as redevelopment planner for 2025. Reiner will draft redevelopment plans for both properties.
Mayor Carlos Rendo called the redevelopment recommendations a “positive” for the community.
“Both sites had empty properties on them, so these recommendations begin a process where we can control what [future] development takes place,” Rendo told Pascack Press at the time. Rendo and Councilwoman Nicole Marsh serve on the Land Use 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”—one of eight statutory conditions for declaring an area in need of redevelopment. This criterion indicates the properties are obsolete, degraded, and no longer suited to their original uses, according to DMR’s reports.
Readers can access DMR’s 75-page BMW report and 46-page Hilton report via the Land Use Board webpage.
The council also unanimously approved Bond Ordinance 25-07 for $2,325,000, which includes bonding up to $1,865,000 for public improvements and new, additional, or replacement equipment.
This appropriation includes:
- $785,000 for the 2025 road improvement program
- $130,000 for a new police SUV
- $41,000 for new or replacement communication and signal systems equipment
- $39,000 for fire department turnout gear
- $13,000 for replacement DPW equipment
- $25,000 for improvements to public buildings
Other bonded improvements include:
- $125,000 for fire department self-contained breathing apparatus equipment
- $8,000 for new furnishings at the Old Mill Swim Pool
- $295,000 for the Broadway Corridor Streetscape Improvement Project
- $184,000 for resurfacing West Hill Road from Emery Lane to Lyons Court
- $160,000 for upgrading the Tri-Boro fuel tank at Park Ridge’s DPW facility
- $125,000 for stormwater system mapping
- $395,000 for supplemental improvements to the train station parking lot
“The cost of such purposes includes the aggregate amount of $317,601, which is estimated to be necessary to finance the cost of such purposes, including architect’s fees, accounting, engineering and inspection costs, legal expenses, and other expenses, including interest on such obligations to the extent permitted by the Local Bond Law,” the resolution states.
According to the resolution, state DOT grant funds will cover portions of the Broadway streetscape and West Hill Road improvements.
Former mayor and councilwoman Josephine Higgins raised questions about bond costs to taxpayers. Administrator Tom Padilla said the ordinance gives the town authority to bond for the expenses and that some costs would likely be covered by a series of bond anticipation notes, or BANs. He said interest rates would be determined at that time.