Edison Warehouse Owner Willing To Sell Property As Open Space

EDISON, NJ — The owner of the proposed controversial warehouse in Silver Lake Edison has indicated his willingness to sell the property to the township as an open space.

The news was confirmed by Councilman Sam Joshi, who said the move would be “ideal.”

“This would be ideal since the funds would come from Middlesex County and can be used towards recreational use,” said Joshi.

“I’ll fully support the Mayor and Middlesex Commissioners if the application moves forward for an open space acquisition,” Joshi said.

Residents of Silver Lake section have been protesting the building of the warehouse on the intersection of Glendale and Silver Lake avenues since August.

A 161,580-square-foot warehouse is being planned at the intersection near the Raritan River, by 41 Glendale LLC.

Read More Here: Edison Residents Protest Warehouse Project

It all started when resident Ron Loeffler recently contacted the property owner at Stalwart Equities, asking if he was willing to sell to the town.

“When I spoke with him, he indicated to me that he is willing explore the option of selling it as open space,” said Loeffler.

After the conversation, Loeffler said he asked the owner to “write a letter, because the property owner has to initiate a conversation with the town.”

This new development has given residents hope. “At this point it’s up to the township and Middlesex County if they can afford it and if they want to go ahead and purchase from the developer,” said Laura Uhlig Smith, another resident, who has been active in resisting moves to build the warehouse.

Residents have been canvassing the neighborhood and have also created a Facebook page "Silverlake Edison" to organize and keep up to date on the matter.

They say that building the warehouse will result in increased vehicular traffic in the neighborhood, jeopardizing the safety of those who live there and affecting the overall quality of life.

“I’ve done some research and I believe over the last six years Edison has contributed over $34 million to the open space tax, and we've only received 4 million back. We're the largest contributor out of all the towns in the county,” said Loeffler.

“So, this (open space) sounds like a good return on investment,” he said.

This latest development comes as the scheduled planning board meeting was postponed yet again on Monday. The cancelled meeting was to be a continuation of a Nov. 2 planning board meeting held at Middlesex County College.

Instead of the planning board, the town council will be meeting.

“The council meeting supersedes other meetings, and our meeting was scheduled since January,” said council president Joyce Ship-Freeman, explaining why it was cancelled.

She said the town council will discuss the warehouse on Monday night.

Ship-Freeman told Patch she has received many letters from the residents on the matter.

“At least 30 people have written letters to me so far expressing concern about the warehouse. Some of them will be speaking today, so I’m looking forward to hear what they have to say,” she said.

Apart from residents, a few council members like Joshi, have voiced their concerns about the warehouse.

Meanwhile, Loeffler is glad he called the owner. “My father told me if I never asked, the answer is no. So that prompted me to make the phone call and I'm glad I did,” he said.

Click herefor details on how to attend council meeting.

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.