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Freehold Council designates former Nestlé site for condemnation redevelopment; removes data‑center use from plan
Summary
The Borough of Freehold on July 13 adopted a resolution designating the former Nestlé manufacturing parcel as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment and introduced a plan amendment to remove data centers as a permitted use. Officials said the move is intended to incentivize remediation and attract job‑creating manufacturing reuse.
The Freehold Borough Council voted July 13 to designate the former Nestlé facility (Block 93, Lots 1.02 and 50) as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment and introduced an amendment to the redevelopment plan that would remove data centers as a permitted use at that site.
Administrator Steve Gallo told the council the owners have been slow to move the property to a responsible developer and that the borough has identified environmental contamination on the site. "They have, however, apparently reached a deal with a company called JG Petrucci, and they are slated to demolish the existing building to remediate the property and construct a new manufacturing facility at that site," Gallo said. He said council’s preference is for reuse that creates local jobs.
Beacon Planning presented the statutory findings used to support the condemnation designation, citing vacancy of the plant for more than two years and building obsolescence that makes the structure difficult to adapt to new uses. The consultant said those conditions, together with evidence of groundwater monitoring wells and other contamination, meet the state criteria for redevelopment and for a condemnation classification that can help spur remediation.
Council discussion emphasized public notice and the opportunity for additional public hearings as required by redevelopment law. The designation passed as consent agenda item CR‑6; the chair summarized the action for the public: "Item 6 that we just did authorize condemnation of this property to hold Nestle accountable," the presiding official said, and declared the consent agenda motion adopted.
The council also introduced ordinance language to remove data centers from the list of permitted uses in the Nestlé redevelopment plan. Officials said data centers were discussed in earlier solicitation rounds but yielded few local jobs and present heavy utility and cooling demands; the amendment is intended to preserve the site for industrial or manufacturing reuse that was presented as a higher local benefit.
What happens next: the redevelopment process will require drafting/approving a revised redevelopment plan and holding public hearings before the planning board and council. Town officials said the redeveloper designation remains preliminary and any project must go through required land‑use hearings before construction can begin.
