CarMax Looks To Construct Dealership At Wayne State Farm Property

CarMax has applied to build a store on the former State Farm site on Route 23.

It would be the second New Jersey location for the major used-car dealership and first in North Jersey, NorthJersey.com reported.

If the application is approved, CarMax would be the first business on the site since State Farm ceased running an office at the location in years. State Farm tore the building down and leveled the property in 2013.

Jen Curtis, a CarMax spokeswoman, told The Record that the location is “a good fit for us.”

The Planning Board is scheduled to hear the application Aug. 24, according to the website.

State Farm moved to Parsippany in 2002. Lowe’s applied to construct a store on the property in 2003. However, residents of the nearby Packanack Lake flooded public meetings on the matter in protest. They testified that the store would cause too much traffic and noise, and would disrupt their quality of life. A new Lowe’s store was built in Riverdale on Route 23 North a few miles away.

Mayor Christopher Vergano said CarMax is expected to generate much less traffic than Lowe’s would have.

Vehicles would access the property through Route 23 and Ratzer Road and vehicle carries would enter through the Route 23 entrance and exit onto Ratzer Road; there would be a 100-foot landscaped buffer near Oak Hill and Timberline drives, The Record said.

CarMax is seeking waivers for a larger and higher sign, s smaller fence and wall at the front of the property, and “higher light levels” in the parking lot, according to the report.

Vergano said in the report that ”our goal is to redevelop this property to help stabilize the tax base,” something officials have been wrestling with for years due to several companies, including Drake’s and Bayer AG, shutting down or relocating.

Local businesses and homeowners have also successfully appealed their property tax valuation, decreasing the amount of taxes the town can collect from property owners.

But things have started to improve recently. The Wayne Towne Center continues to be redeveloped and other businesses, including Quick Chek, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and a Hilton Garden Inn have opened locations in town.

Driscoll Foods will build a nearly 400,000-square-foot warehouse at the former Bayer headquarters location, The Record reported.