Former Nabisco factory site in Fair Lawn approved to become a 644,000-square-foot warehouse

A unanimous vote happened after 11 p.m. to approve a new building for a warehouse at the former Nabisco plant on Route 208.

Kristen Eskow

Sep 19, 2023, 9:42 AM

Updated 460 days ago

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The Fair Lawn Planning Board gave the green light for a new warehouse to be built at the site of the former Nabisco plant.
A unanimous vote happened after 11 p.m. to approve a new building for a warehouse at the former plant on Route 208. The building has sat vacant for more than two years and was supposed to be torn down in the spring.
According to the planning application, the proposed warehouse will measure 644,000-square-feet and include more than 100 tractor-trailer bays.
No one has given a timeline for how soon the building could be demolished.
Fair Lawn councilmember Gail Friedberg Rottenstrich, one of the planning board members who approved the warehouse project, said Tuesday she felt comfortable voting in favor of the proposal after the developer agreed to the planning board's conditions.
"A lot of the concessions had to do with environmental impacts," she said. "So, the warehouse is going to be lead certified. It's going to have 100% capability for solar on the roof, whereas only 40% is required by state law."
It's too early to tell what kind of items will be stored at the warehouse since there isn't a tenant lined up yet, Rottenstrich said. She could not provide a timeline for demolition of the former Nabisco structure since the developer has to meet several state environmental requirements, such as asbestos remediation.
The building was originally set to be torn down in April, but that was pushed back due to contamination at the site.
"This application wasn't taken lightly," Rottenstrich said. "It was a slow, deliberate process. All of the members of the planning board worked really hard to make this the best application possible."