Planned Warehouse Nixed For Hundreds Of Homes At Gloucester Twp. Redevelopment Site

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Hundreds of homes would be built in Gloucester Township as part of a lawsuit settlement between local officials and the developer who sought to build a warehouse there.

The plan could bring more than 300 housing units to the redevelopment site along 1000 Williamstown-Erial Rd., where developer Modani Properties previously wanted to build a 234,000-foot warehouse.

Modani submitted an application to develop the warehouse to the Gloucester Township Planning Board in July 2022. Two months later, Modani entered a redevelopment agreement with Township Council, which allowed for the warehouse to be developed on the lot.

A hearing on the proposed warehouse was scheduled for a Planning Board meeting in January 2023. But just ahead of the meeting, it was stricken from the agenda, according to court documents.

Around that time, New Jersey was seeing an influx of warehousing developments. And state officials released new zoning recommendations to help minimize their adverse impacts on communities, according to Council President Orlando Mercado.

The Township Council decided to follow them, which effectively canceled the warehouse plan despite prior approvals. As a result, Modani sued the township and the Planning Board in 2023.

"Where the litigation came in is that developer already had Planning Board approval, council approval and zoning approval to build warehouses," Mercado said at Monday's council meeting. "When the zoning changed, that developer was harmed in a sense because they could no longer build the extensive amount of warehousing in that area."

The township and developer struck a settlement agreement earlier this year, which will allow Modani to build townhouses in the redevelopment area and adjoining lots.

The drafted settlement was approved by the Planning Board in May and is set for a public hearing and a vote for adoption at the Township Council meeting on Nov. 10.

Modani has operated under the entity of 1000 Williamstown NJ LLC for the development.

View the drafted settlement below:

Under the settlement, Modani plans to develop the homes in three phases:

• Phase I: 194 "single-lot fee simple townhome units" across two lots that Modani owns; or 204 single-lot fee simple townhome units on those parcels, plus an adjoining lot that Modani is seeking to purchase.
• Phase II: 119 single-lot townhome units across three lots; or 128 condominium or cooperative townhome units.
• Phase III: 16 single-lot townhome units on one lot.

There would be about nine homes per acre, according to the drafted settlement.

Modani would need to present the full proposal to the Planning Board after the settlement gets final approval.

Those who purchase the homes would be entitled to a 10-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) — an exemption on property taxes in exchange for a flat fee paid to municipalities. Proponents for PILOT agreements say they encourage development, but critics say they adversely impact school funding.

None of the homes will be affordable housing, so Modani would instead pay into the township's Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Several residents expressed skepticism of the settlement at Monday's council meeting. Concerns raised included whether settling the lawsuit was the best decision and potential strain on local schools that added housing could bring.

Township resident Denise Coyne also noted that the council's vote to approve the settlement will come days after Gloucester Township's mayor and council elections on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

• Related: Gloucester Twp. 2025 Election Guide: What's At Stake, Where To Vote

"Residents deserve clear answers and transparency before the election so voters understand who their representatives are representing and where each one stands on this deal," Coyne said. "The public also deserves a financial analysis comparing the cost to residents of settling versus going to court, before the November 10th hearing."

Mercado said the lawsuit was "very complicated litigation," which would have been difficult and expensive for the township to fight because of the zoning change.

"If we continued to fight it and lost it, there’d be warehouses instead of residential development in that area," Mercado said.

Enrollment at Gloucester Township and Black Horse Pike schools has decreased in recent decades, despite the housing built in the township during that period, Mercado said, citing data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

"I guess you could still say over and over again that overdevelopment is taking place, developers are bad, we’re corrupt and everything’s a mess here in Gloucester Township," Mercado said. "But that’s a tired, tired, tired statement."

The next Township Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Municipal Building.

Watch footage of Monday's council meeting below: