Mahwah Sheraton and parking garage to be demolished
Warehouse to replace structures, but not soon
MAHWAH — In the world of development planning, more is apparently less.
Applicant traffic engineer Dan Disario told the township’s Planning Board this week that the good news about the 1.7 million-square-foot warehouse complex proposed to replace the Mahwah Sheraton on Route 17 is that it will generate an estimated 950 cars in and out, and 510 trucks in and out, in a 24-hour period.
That compares with the estimated 3,000 cars in and out and 1,926 trucks in and out over a 24-hour period if the hotel/office complex was operating at its intended capacity, he testified.
The traffic reduction is so significant that the state Department of Transportation has issued a letter of “no interest” to Crossroads Developers Associates, Disario said.
Coming on the heels of two nearby major truck crashes on Aug. 29 and Sept. 8, board members continued to express concern about how the complex’s traffic would be managed. But board attorney Mark Madaio told board members their powers are limited.
“Whatever ordinance got us there, this is a permitted use,” Madaio said. “The questions of volume and traffic have all been decided at the governing body level. Those really aren’t for us. So your focus has to be on safe ingress and egress.”
Board Chairman Jeremiah Crean expressed particular concern to Disario about directing southbound truck traffic onto the site.
“You’re trying to put how many trucks per day off Leisure Lane?” Crean asked.
“A truck coming over Mountain Avenue has to cross over a concrete median in the center of the road to make the turn, and a car barely fits on that road now.”
Most notably, applicant engineer Tony Diggan said the hotel is not scheduled for demolition until the first warehouse is built, dispelling recent speculation that the hotel's announced layoff of 91 employees signaled its closing.
“Some tenancy is phasing out at the end of the year, and I think the bulk of that's going to be phasing out in quarter one and two of 2024,” Diggin said. “The hotel and parking garage are going to be taken down at some point prior to Phase 2.”
Resident Thomas Dillon of Bergen Place questioned whether landscaping along the Ramapo River was intended as a sound or light barrier, and what further precautions were being taken, such as a berm. Diggin said they are limited in how much they could build up the river bank, and that no wall is planned unless sound exceeds mandated daytime and evening decibel levels. Downlights in the parking lot were not expected to shine offsite, Diggin said.
The warehouse project was approved as a concept in December as a collaboration among township officials, the owner and the Fair Share Housing Center. In March 2018 the property was zoned for 800 multifamily units, 120 of them affordable, on the 137-acre property surrounding the 24-story Sheraton hotel as part of the township's housing agreement. Now a 72-unit all-affordable complex is planned for Ridge Road.
Mayor James Wysocki and board member Gary Montroy have asked for the township's fire chief and code official to be present at the next meeting to testify about the appropriate placement of hydrants and other fire prevention issues.
Applicant attorney James Jaworski said he will also produce architect and environmental experts to answer further questions on the plan.
The next meeting on the application is scheduled for Oct. 9. A complete video of the Sept. 11 meeting testimony is available on the township's website: mahwahnj.new.swagit.com/ videos/271231.
“Some tenancy is phasing out at the end of the year, and I think the bulk of that’s going to be phasing out in quarter one and two of 2024.”
Tony Diggan
Applicant engineer