One Westfield Place Project Remains In Limbo, Officials Say

WESTFIELD, NJ — The future of the One Westfield Place redevelopment is still up in the air as the town works through the ongoing SACS global bankruptcy case, leaving the long-term plan for the former Lord & Taylor property unclear for now.

During Tuesday’s Westfield Town Council meeting, Mayor Jeremy Berman said the project is essentially on hold while things work their way through the courts.

“While we would love to be giving a substantive update about the future of One Westfield Place project, the reality is there isn’t really one to give just yet,” Berman said.

Berman added that SACS has secured $500 million in approved exit financing and is expected to emerge from bankruptcy in the coming weeks. He also noted the company is up to date on its property taxes in Westfield.

In the meantime, the town has brought in bankruptcy counsel to make sure its interests are protected under the redevelopment agreement and that any money owed to the town is handled through the legal process.

The issue came up again during the public comment portion of the meeting, where questions were raised about how certain court-related matters are being interpreted.

Berman said the bankruptcy court has agreed to include repayment of $153,000 owed to the town as part of SACS’ obligations. That was challenged by Westfield resident and bankruptcy attorney Courtney Shell, who said her read of the court docket tells a different story.

“Based on what I’m seeing, it’s a pending objection filed by the town’s attorney asking for a cure payment that has not been resolved yet,” Shell said.

Shell also urged caution when looking at bankruptcy restructuring plans, pointing to other major corporate bankruptcies that looked stable on paper but didn’t always play out that way in practice.

“Just because the court said that they’re going to survive, and that this is financially feasible, take that with a grain of salt,” she said. “History shows that for a lot of bankruptcy cases that doesn’t really pan out.”

She said the council should push for stronger financial protections to avoid long delays or uncertainty with the project.

Even with the uncertainty, town officials said the pause could also be a chance to take another look at what the project should ultimately become.

Berman noted that market conditions have changed since the redevelopment was first approved, which could open the door to revisiting aspects like scale, design, and the mix of uses.

Resident Carla Bonacci said she supports the idea of reexamining the plan but wants to see more public input built into the process.

“I would like a process for community engagement that is really more robust than what we saw the last time, so that people can give their input early on before there are actually sketches and design,” Bonacci said.

For now, officials say the town is waiting for the bankruptcy process to play out. SACS has indicated it is continuing to evaluate its options, but most movement on the redevelopment is expected to remain paused until the legal situation is resolved.