A compromise between to developers may make the Forsgate Industrial Park a foreign trade zone.
By: Amanda Bok
A compromise between two commercial development firms could result in the Forsgate Industrial Park being granted a foreign-trade-zone designation.
The compromise also will pave the way for the Rockefeller Group, a North Jersey warehouse group, to receive a trade-zone designation for a proposed Cranbury project.
The Rockefeller Group had applied to the federal government through the state for the designation. But the application had been opposed by South Brunswick warehouse developer Charles Klatskin, who claimed the zone would give the Cranbury development an unfair advantage in the region.
As a compromise, the Klatskin group also will be allowed to apply for the trade-zone designation through the state.
Trade zones offer federal tax exemptions on the import of foreign materials and goods.
The Rockefeller Group is seeking permission to expand its Mount Olive foreign-trade-zone status to 153 acres of warehouse space it owns off Route 130, where it plans to build four warehouses totaling 1.95 million square feet in the township’s industrial zone.
"We are very happy with this solution," said Gene Preston, vice president of the Rockefeller Group. "We expect to have our application approved within the next 30 to 60 days."
Charles Klatskin, CEO of the Klatskin group, said he would not comment until the federal government makes a decision on the application. Mr. Klatskin is a real-estate developer who is a partner in the Forsgate Industrial Complex on Route 32 in South Brunswick.
Mr. Klatskin led opposition to the Rockefeller proposal in October.
State officials did not return phone calls Thursday.
Mr. Preston said the Rockefeller group may have decided to abandon its Cranbury project had it failed to negotiate a solution to the foreign-trade-zone dispute.