Redevelopment Plan Introduced For Former Toys 'R' Us Site In Wayne

WAYNE, NJ — After years of negotiations, Wayne residents and Township Council members are getting a look at how a major development at the former Toys "R" Us headquarters to play out.

The plan is for 1,360 residential units to be built on the mostly-vacant site, with 272 units set aside for affordable housing — as set forth in a 2021 settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center.

Town officials had been negotiating with Point View Wayne Properties, who own the site at 1 Geoffrey Way, over the exact placement of the apartment buildings and how tall they would be. Point View Wayne bought the 191-acre campus in March 2019 for $19 million, much less than its reported market value.

"We have spent five years negotiating with the developer," Mayor Chris Vergano said. “It took us a long time to get to the point where we are today."

The mayor and township planners came to a settlement with the developer on Tuesday afternoon, several hours before a a special council meeting.

Council now has 30 days to approve the general development plan for the site, which members Al Sadowski and Francine Ritter said felt too rushed. Both voted against introducing an ordinance that sets out that plan, which involves re-zoning areas within this parcel of land to allow for residential development.

The property would be split into five total parts: One residential area on either side of a mixed-use building, a "gateway" space that could be used for restaurants or businesses, and a section that would would remain open space for recreation.

The residential buildings would range from three stories to eight stories tall, (though only one eight-story building could be built overall), and include a combination of multi-family apartment buildings, single-family townhomes, and any units the mixed-use building.

There would also be a 100-foot buffer between the development and the nearby Lions Head Lake and Pines Lake neighborhoods.

A public hearing on the development is scheduled for the Council meeting on Oct. 16.

As a note: The Toys "R" Us site is one of seven locations in Wayne where new residential projects are either planned or in progress, as the township is required to provide a certain amount of affordable housing units under state law.

Related article —Plans For 1,360-Unit Housing Project At Toys 'R' Us Site To Be Unveiled In Wayne