The township planning board told them to come back with more detailed plans.
Having the discussion on a massive proposed warehouse project at Commerce Park pushed back a month shouldn't hurt the project, the developer says.
But any other delays, they worry, could prove costly.
A "large user" has expressed interest in the plans for 4 million square feet of warehouse space on the nearly 400-acre site spread between Phillipsburg and Lopatcong Township, according to Erin Murphy, principal of the site's Medford, New Jersey-based developer, Opus Investments.
"If we can't meet their timeline, they won't come to New Jersey," she said last week, after the Lopatcong Township Planning Board halted discussion on the project and deemed their general development plan incomplete.
Construction is still expected to begin this year, Murphy said, and is planned to wrap up in 2021. When finished, the Commerce Park warehouses are expected to provide 2,765 jobs and generate $425 million annually in economic output.
Murphy estimated the interested party, whom she declined to identify due to ongoing negotiations, could double the projected number of jobs at the site.
Financial gains seen in warehouse project
At the Feb. 24 meeting, planning board officials said they didn't have enough information on the general plan, specifically regarding traffic. Opus had experts present to testify and answer questions, but the board said it preferred the information in the application. The issue is to be readdressed at this month's meeting.
Murphy said that their approval is key at this stage of the development. The New Jersey Department of Transportation has given its preliminary approval on a proposed turning lane to enter the complex from Route 22, south of the junction with Route 57.
But without Lopatcong's approval of the general plan, they cannot proceed with the state on developing the entrance, Murphy said.
"If we can't get the people and the trucks ... into the place from Route 22, then it's going to delay things," she said.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.