The former Moldieco Plastics site will be transformed into several businesses under a redevelopment plan. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN HAGERTY A long-abandoned plastic-manufacturing site in Woodbridge will again be put to use, thanks to a development project that will renovate the shuttered facility.
“It’s just another example of an old, decrepit industrial building being refurbished to bring more jobs to Woodbridge,” Mayor John McCormac said of the $3 million project.
Adler Development broke ground July 20 at the former home of Moldieco Plastics on King Georges Post Road in Fords.
Plans for the approximately 43,000- square-foot facility — which dates back to the 1950s — include renovation of a portion of the existing warehouse to allow for eight 5,000-square-foot “flex” units, according to Joshua Adler of Adler Development.
Each of the units will come equipped with two overhead bay doors, and will house both warehouse and office space.
Adler said offices would be situated on one side of the facility, with warehouses on the other side.
Site improvements slated for the tract consist of 16 truck spaces for loading and unloading, 70 regular parking spaces, lighting and landscaping.
“The lot and the building are in pretty bad shape,” Adler said, adding that the abandoned structure had no utilities running to it.
Demolition is under way at the site, with the front section and a portion of the building’s southern section being removed. The downed portions of the building will subtract about 3,000 square feet from its footprint, Adler said.
According to John Hagerty, a spokesman for the township, the front portion of the aging structure was in disrepair.
Adler said the “appendage” on the south side of the building prevents vehicles from passing around it. Its removal will allow vehicles to circumnavigate the building, he said, adding that a driveway will be added on that side of the property. The builder received approval from the Department of Environmental Protection to remove asbestos from the existing building, and has already dealt with old fill left behind by the building’s former tenants, Adler said. No other environmental issues exist there, according to Hagerty.
While tenants for the units have yet to be secured, Hagerty said no manufacturing or large-scale warehousing would take place at the site.
“It will be more of an office space, distribution, warehouse [facility],” he said.
Adler echoed his statements, saying any number of business types could make use of the space.
“We anticipate a combination of smaller and larger companies,” he said.
Adler said his hope is to have the project completed sometime in January, although it could run into February depending on how smoothly the process goes.
Unlike some other large-scale developments in town, for which officials have struck payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements with the developers, Adler Development will pay the regular municipal tax rate, Hagerty said.
The developer estimated that each of the eight units would generate an average of eight to 10 jobs, Hagerty said.
“Eight new companies can have brandnew space,” McCormac said. “We’re always happy when people choose to invest in Woodbridge.”
McCormac was on hand to mark the start of construction at the site, along with representatives from the Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency and the township’s Department of Planning and Development.
Adler praised township officials, saying they’ve been a pleasure to work with on this project and others in the past.
“This is not our first project in Woodbridge, but our experience in the past in [town] has been so great that we’re actually looking to do more in Woodbridge,” Adler said.