A construction site set to be the home of a new industrial space in Sayreville was damaged early Friday morning in what police called a criminal act.

Sayreville police say heavy machinery was likely used to damage the newly built wall of the Ashland construction project at the intersection of Minisink Avenue and Cheesequake Road between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The wall had previously been a point of contention for some members of the community and police call the damage a "purposeful act.”

Most of the retaining wall at the construction site remains intact. Cinder blocks that toppled from the top of the wall could be seen on the ground and a piece of construction equipment was surrounded by the rubble on Saturday.

On Friday afternoon, Sayreville police posted to their Facebook page to alert the community to what had happened and asked anyone with information to come forward. That only seemed to spark some residents' disdain for the project.

Some residents left comments like, "This may be the first of many acts of vandalism against a project that is despised," and "This vandalism is nothing compared to the destruction of perfectly good woods. The majority of the town hates this project."

"It's bad, that should never happen. That's not a good thing, but it's sad also that we had nature and it's taken over by warehouses, which is a big problem in New Jersey. Now we're affected by it,” said Sayreville resident Karen Tocco.

Sayreville police encourage anyone who may have driven by the area at the time and happen to have dash cams to contact them.