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BROWNFIELDS - PRIVATE
Case Study #1

New Brunswick, New Jersey

JMS was retained by a real estate investment fund that acquired an abandoned manufacturing facility on a parcel in New Brunswick. During due diligence, JMS was asked to determine the environmental status of the parcel.

JMS conducted research on the history of the facility and determined that the facility formerly produced ceramic bathroom fixtures including toothbrush holders and soap dishes at the site from 1926 until approximately 1998. Raw clay was molded, fired and glazed to produce the finished products. The facility also plated metal bathroom fixtures for the Navy during the Second World War.

The major raw material used in the operations at the site was clay that contained metals that are now regulated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). JMS conducted a limited investigation of the property and determined that remnants of that raw material are spread throughout the site. Other areas of concern present at the site include settling lagoons, former underground storage tanks, and metal plating operations.

The site will be redeveloped into professional/medical office buildings. The existing structure has been demolished and our client is preparing to voluntarily clean up the site under a Memorandum of Agreement with the NJDEP. Once the agreement is in place, the NJDEP will oversee the remediation, which will include isolating the minor soil contamination beneath the new buildings, asphalt parking lots and clean fill to prevent any possible exposure to the contamination.

Local newspapers, citizens from the local community and town officials have endorsed this brownfields project. The redevelopment of this parcel is considered an important step in the economic resurgence of New Brunswick.