A huge warehouse complex was threatened by dirt, the developer had said.
Last month, the 4-million-square-foot, eight-warehouse complex proposed in Phillipsburg's Commerce Park -- and the projected thousands of jobs and billions of dollars it is expected to generate -- was threatened by dirt, according to the developer.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection had said state rules on soil contaminants prohibited the developer's plan to truck in 600,000 cubic yards of fill material to raise an area 30 feet or more.
Developer Opus Investments, in turn, said that work was necessary to bring in a major tenant and that the denial could hold up the future of the project in years of litigation.
More recently, involved parties have said the situation is more amicable and the project has a path forward.
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Erin Murphy, a principal with the Medford, N.J.-based Opus, described a recent meeting with the DEP as positive. Phillipsburg Mayor Stephen Ellis, who was also present at the Aug. 11 meeting, called it "productive."
"NJDEP has agreed to work with us on some issues that are absolutely necessary for the redevelopment to occur," Murphy said in an email. The state agency has agreed to consider an amended application for the soil fill and other issues. Informal meetings ahead of formal project submissions will help streamline the process, she said.
Ellis, who previously worked for the DEP in the state park service, said he is "very confident the remediation and redeveloperment will continue to move forward."
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The Commerce Park property covers nearly 400 acres between Phillipsburg and Lopatcong Township, and once was home to Ingersoll Rand, the town's largest employer for decades.
When completed in 2021, the developement is projected to bring about 3,000 jobs, and produce $3.7 billion within Warren County over the next 10 years.
Exactly who is interested in the property is still the matter of some speculation. Murphy previously said the fill is needed to create a level area for an interested package company, though she declined to identify the business by name.
A WFMZ-TV report notes that two companies rumored to be interested, FedEx and Amazon, both have facilities in the works nearby in Pennsylvania.
"I will say this," Opus manager Dan Gural told the station, "we have had an extreme amount of interest from large-scale logistics companies."
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.