"Just a plain, old-fashioned, dry goods warehouse." That was how the developer's attorney opened the April 22 hearing on a proposed warehouse at 1 Croshaw Road, according to the Courier-Post's coverage of the hearing. About four hours later, North Hanover Township's Joint Land Use Board voted unanimously to deny it.
Four months later the Township Committee went further and removed warehouses as a principal permitted use in its General Industrial zone. By the time the ban passed, the township had already approved a five-building warehouse park on 107 acres off Sykesville Road. A tax agreement for the project was approved a month later.
The Script Was Written Before the Ban
The order of the votes is what matters here. Here is the sequence, taken from township ordinances, minutes and Courier-Post reporting:
- October 6, 2005: The township designates Block 602 as part of an area in need of redevelopment. The lot was then known as Lot 9 and is now Lot 9.02.
- July 21, 2022: North Hanover Urban Renewal, LLC, based at 154 First Avenue in Manasquan, is named conditional redeveloper.
- February 2, 2023: The Township Committee adopts a redevelopment plan for the site.
- September 12, 2023: The Joint Land Use Board approves five warehouse buildings totaling 917,050 square feet, plus 50,000 square feet of office space.
- March 27, 2024: The redeveloper applies for a long-term tax exemption.
- January 28, 2026: An amended approval trims the plan to about 807,793 square feet of warehouse space, 50,000 square feet of office space and 147 trailer storage spaces.
- April 22, 2026: The Croshaw Road warehouse is denied.
- August 6, 2026: The committee adopts the warehouse ban, Ordinance 2026-13, and introduces the Sykesville Road financial agreement, Ordinance 2026-14, at the same meeting.
- August 25, 2026: The Courier-Post reports that the Croshaw Road developer has sued the township.
- September 3, 2026: Ordinance 2026-14 is adopted unanimously.
The ban and the tax deal were introduced at the same August meeting. That was no accident of scheduling. The two votes work as a pair.
The Ban and the Approved Project
Ordinance 2026-13 begins by citing the township's 2016 Master Plan Reexamination, which called for protecting rural and historic character, farmland and environmental resources while developing Sykesville Road with "mixed-use commercial and light industrial uses."
It then notes that the Block 602, Lot 9.02 redeveloper already has final site plan approval for five warehouse buildings. Next it gives the reason for the ban: "other lands in the Sykesville Road area and other parts of the Township may attract additional warehouses."
Where the 107 Acres Sit
Most coverage stops at "Sykesville Road." The 2023 redevelopment plan is more exact. It describes a 107-acre tract with these neighbors:
| Side | What borders the site |
|---|---|
| North | A 66-foot paper street that extends Croshaw Road west of McGuire Access Highway, plus about 1,200 feet of McGuire Access Highway, in a mostly agricultural area |
| East | Block 602, Lot 9.01, an approximately 49-acre solar farm |
| South | Spartan Village Mobile Home Community |
| West | A handful of businesses fronting Wrightstown-Sykesville Road |
Traffic control at the site entrance has its own paperwork. The Township Committee's September 3 agenda listed Resolution 2026-128. It's a proposed shared-services agreement among the township, Burlington County and North Hanover Urban Renewal LLC for a traffic signal at Defense Access Road and the Industrial Road site driveway.
If you're looking at homes near the McGuire Access Highway corridor, that intersection is the one to watch as minutes are posted.
Where the Tax Money Goes
The tax structure helps explain why a town would approve one large project while blocking others.
Ordinance 2026-14 approves a long-term tax exemption and financial agreement for the project under New Jersey's Long Term Tax Exemption Law. The final form of the agreement is subject to revisions by the Township Attorney before the Mayor signs it. Under an agreement like this, the property owner makes an annual service charge, a payment in lieu of taxes, instead of a conventional property tax bill.
Who receives that payment is set by statute. According to the current text of N.J.S.A. 40A:20-12 posted by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the annual service charge is paid to the municipality. The municipality must send five percent to the county. A board of education receives money only if it has a contract with the municipality under a 2023 law, P.L.2023, c.311. That 2023 law ties those contracts to pledging part of the payments toward school facility bonds. The New Jersey State Comptroller's 2010 report on tax abatements described the baseline split as 95 percent to the municipality, 5 percent to the county and nothing to schools.
Two 2026 bills in Trenton deal with school shares of these payments. S1807 was referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations in February, and A5680 was introduced October 19. Neither is law.
There's also a front-loaded piece. At the August 6 meeting, the township attorney said the agreement now includes a community impact payment to be received upfront by year-end, along with a smaller site plan than the 2024 submission.
The approved warehouse park has a financial agreement. Residents raised concerns about trucks on roads like Route 537 and Croshaw Road at the April hearing.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If a PILOT or redevelopment agreement bears on a home you're considering, confirm the details with an attorney or tax professional.
The Sequel Still in Court
The township's record is not quite final. The ban took effect after the Croshaw Road denial, and that case is now in Burlington County Superior Court. The Courier-Post reported that 1 Croshaw LLC sued over the April rejection.
That proposal covered a roughly 13-acre farm zoned for industrial use near Sykesville Road and McGuire Access Highway, close to the approved park. At the hearing, residents said the area still leans rural, with longstanding farming and scattered housing.
The Joint Land Use Board next meets November 18 and December 16 at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Complex courtroom.
The Township Committee's October 1 agenda set a public hearing for Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. on Ordinance 2026-16, which amends the township's fee schedule for mobile home parks. That hearing matters to households at Spartan Village and other parks in the township. Meetings are held at the Municipal Building, 41 Schoolhouse Road in Jacobstown.
The County Market in September
In September 2026, according to New Jersey REALTORS' Burlington County Local Market Update, single-family homes:
- sold for a median of $455,000, up 1.1 percent from a year earlier
- closed 295 times, down 9.2 percent
- took 33 days on average to sell, and county inventory reached 869 homes, up 7.3 percent, or 3.0 months of supply
- sold for 101.0 percent of list price on average
Townhouses and condos moved more sharply. The September median fell 12.9 percent to $318,000, and inventory rose 28.1 percent.
These are countywide numbers, and the report's data were current as of October 9, 2026. Single-family prices are flat to slightly up and supply is growing across both property types, so a typical listing stays on the market for weeks rather than days. Sellers still received slightly more than list price on average.
Quick Questions
What did the ordinance say about the Sykesville Road project? Ordinance 2026-13 describes the Block 602, Lot 9.02 project as having redevelopment plan status and final site plan approval, and the township approved its financial agreement afterward.
How big is the approved project? The January 2026 amended approval covers five buildings with about 807,793 square feet of warehouse space, 50,000 square feet of office space and 147 trailer storage spaces.
Is any other land being considered for preservation? The October 1 Township Committee agenda included Burlington County's Farmland Preservation Program acquisition targeting list for municipal review.
Weighing a North Hanover home near Sykesville Road or McGuire Access Highway? The Hawleywood Homes Real Estate Team can walk you through the redevelopment map, the meeting calendar and the county numbers, so you know what's already in the script before you make an offer. Contact Us to get started.
