Valley National HQ Housing Development On Hold: Report

WAYNE, NJ – A proposal to build several hundred housing units in Wayne is on hold as the township and the project’s developer face off in court over the township's affordable housing obligation, according to a report.

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. seeks to buy the 26-acre Valley National Bank campus on Valley Road and build “several hundred units,” a portion of which would be earmarked for affordable housing, NorthJersey.com reported.

If the township approves housing in the area, which is zoned for office use, Valley National would sell the property by the end of 2021, the newspaper reported.

Town officials reportedly learned the bank was under contract with AvalonBay through letters from Valley National representatives.

Mayor Chris Vergano said on Thursday, "We are certainly disappointed to hear that our hometown bank, Valley National Bank, has announced plans that it is leaving our community and in its place wants to burden the Township with a massive high-density housing development on the 26.26 acres of property that it owns spread over three separate parcels located on Valley Road."

"Since many of their long term employees that work out of their corporate office live in Wayne, I certainly hope that they have chosen a new location that is within a close proximity and not in another state, like Florida, where they have recently acquired additional banking institutions," Vergano said.

According to the mayor, officials have "negotiated in good faith for the past three years with various property owners throughout the Township in order to become in compliance with our court imposed affordable housing requirements."

"Our goal all along has been to comply with the court-imposed mandates of new Affordable Housing units and at the same time maintain the residential qualities of our community and that does not include the type of high-density housing that Valley National Bank wants to build as their good by gift to our community," the mayor said.

In December 2015, Wayne's board of adjustment denied another proposal by AvalonBay. The developer's application construct a 422-unit rental complex on Totowa Road dragged on for months and was met with resistance from not only residents also the New Jersey Sierra Club.