Democrats Pitch FTZ for Old Huntsman Site

Beyond rusting, barbed-wire-topped chain-link fences lies a wasteland of broken concrete and five-foot-high weeds.

An abandoned guard shack, the only building for acres, stands as a sentinel over a broad expanse of nothing.

It’s the old Huntsman chemical plant site on Mantua Grove Road, the very definition of a brownfield, and something West Deptford Democrats Denice DiCarlo and Hunter Kintzing say is ripe for a somewhat unorthodox solution.

The two township committee candidates are proposing applying for a federal Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) designation for the property as a way of redeveloping the property, which has been dormant more than a decade.

Getting tabbed as an FTZ would provide certain advantages for any business moving in, from exemptions or deferments on import duties, access to streamlined customs procedures and certain tax benefits, among others.

DiCarlo called the program a way to spur increased investment in West Deptford.

“Unfortunately, the closing of Huntsman marked the beginning of a period of decline that has hit our township hard, increasing everyone’s tax burden. We need to attract new businesses to West Deptford to reverse this trend.” DiCarlo said. “The FTZ program is a tool that has real potential to jump-start the redevelopment of the Huntsman site.”

The site’s proximity to the –it’s just over 2 miles from the front gate to where the port is under construction–is a major advantage, Kintzing said.

“The designation would help pave the way for new West Deptford businesses to take advantage of import and export activities by helping open up new international markets,” Kintzing said. “Additionally, this proposal helps our township take full advantage of the economic development opportunities that will flow from the Port of Paulsboro.”

And the South Jersey Port Corporation, which will run the Port of Paulsboro, also oversees the FTZ in South Jersey.

The federal government lists 18 different businesses operating in FTZs across New Jersey. While the three in the FTZ in Gloucester County are all refineries, other FTZs support everything from fragrance companies to pharmaceuticals to watches to computers.

Kintzing said they’re not targeting any one specific business or type of business for the Huntsman site, but are simply looking for new ways to entice businesses to West Deptford.

“Economic development is our top priority,” he said.

The application process for the FTZ designation is generally a six- to nine-month process, Kintzing said, and is something he and DiCarlo would look to tackle right after taking office.

“We think West Deptford is ripe for new development,” Kintzing said.