Mount Arlington Station

Does anyone know if there are any hotels in proximity to the statiion?
Haven't been out that way in a few years.

Mick -

Does anyone know if there are any hotels in proximity to the statiion?

Not that I know of.

This is a fairly remote/rural area along I-80. Save for a handful of small industrial plants/businesses, there's not much in the immediate vicinity of this tiny station.

There is a holiday inn express and a Courtyard by Marriott about quarter of a mile from the station. They are just on the other side of route 80.

northjerseybuff wrote: Do these companies get bonuses for finishing ahead of time?

Only if was written in the contract.... Although good contractors want to get done early because it cuts costs on equipment rentals, labor, etc. which puts more money in the contractor's pocket.

In reference to this area being remote. It may have been in the past, but as has been said, two hotels now exist along with a Cracker Barrel, strip mall, I would say nearly 500,000 sf of small spec office spaces, and large housing developments have all been built within a short walk (if sidewalks existed) away.

Also a very large undeveloped parcel, the former Hercules (?) Site, which is several hundred acres is just to the south of the station. It will be developed into something. Most if not all of the onsite cleanup has been completed.

Devil 505 wrote:There is a holiday inn express and a Courtyard by Marriott about quarter of a mile from the station. They are just on the other side of route 80.

Not to mention an entire plaza surrounding the Courtyard Marriot, an older plaza across the street, numerous stand-alone businesses, new construction condos being built on the hill, Ledgewood a quick ride down Howard Boulevard... yeah, rural my...ahem. The area is building up quick. I'm just waiting for some developer to come along and stake a claim on Hercules for a transit village now. Environmental remediation on that lot would be quite costly though...but who cares if you can get the State to pay for it.

The last I heard, the former Hercules Powder site was to be made into a large park.

SemperFidelis wrote:The last I heard, the former Hercules Powder site was to be made into a large park.

Semper,

The last hint of a development application for the site was by the Rockafeller Group (owned by a Japanese company with super deep pockets I believe) to try and get this site as an expansion to the Trade Zone up in Mount Olive. A mix of office, warehouse, light indsutry and residential uses were being hinted at. This goes back 7-8 years ago.

I know remediation has been on going with many items being burned onsite as they were too hazardous to cart away. Also some of the company homes near Route 46 have been torn down.

The idea of a park is new to me. I will check around.

For such a big site, development plans have been amazingly absent for this one when so much of the surrounding area has had explosive growth (pun intended)

cjvrr wrote: For such a big site, development plans have been amazingly absent for this one when so much of the surrounding area has had explosive growth (pun intended)

And for those that are not aware...or are too young (like me)...

Hercules went BOOM one day. Big Time. Blew the windows out of the Ramsey sporting goods plaza.

geoffand wrote:

cjvrr wrote: For such a big site, development plans have been amazingly absent for this one when so much of the surrounding area has had explosive growth (pun intended)

And for those that are not aware...or are too young (like me)...

Hercules went BOOM one day. Big Time. Blew the windows out of the Ramsey sporting goods plaza.

I remember that day. It blew the widows out of most of the buildings in Succasunna. I slept right through it though.

Thanks for hotel info guys.

Mick

geoffand wrote:Environmental remediation on that lot would be quite costly though...but who cares if you can get the State to pay for it.

Slightly OT, but...

The State rarely pays for anything. In Environmental, The State (NJDEP)may conduct investigation and enforcement activity, but they won't pay for the remediation. The property owner who the State identifies as the most likely offender would have to pay for it (including going after heirs and such what). Or a new owner can voluntarily assume the liability when they buy the land (normally, even if you buy the land the previous owner retains liability for environmental issues).

If no party can be found, the State can apply for Federal funding. Remediation can easily cost millions of dollars between the investigations, the engineering for system design, and system operation which, depending on what is being cleaned up can take 10 to 30 yrs or operating the system (along with all the supporting reports on progress to be submitted).

One of the results of the Florio administration was a draconian approach to assigning blame and State ordered clean up actions. The State refused to discuss the subject or be flexible on how cleanup would be conducted as well as assigning huge fines against the alleged offenders (just to boost State revenue). Aside from businesses and manufacturing abandoning NJ, this also resulted in the one of the many factors that identified NJ as unfriendly to businesses moving in. This also resulted in the bankruptcy and closure of many small businesses (remember the Mom & Pop gas stations?) and the large corporations immediately filed numerous counter law suits to stop Florios March to the Sea resulting in us, the taxpayer, paying huge legal fees to support the States rigid approach to handling business.

CJPat wrote:

geoffand wrote:Environmental remediation on that lot would be quite costly though...but who cares if you can get the State to pay for it.

Slightly OT, but...

The State rarely pays for anything. In Environmental, The State (NJDEP)may conduct investigation and enforcement activity, but they won't pay for the remediation. The property owner who the State identifies as the most likely offender would have to pay for it (including going after heirs and such what). Or a new owner can voluntarily assume the liability when they buy the land (normally, even if you buy the land the previous owner retains liability for environmental issues).

If no party can be found, the State can apply for Federal funding. Remediation can easily cost millions of dollars between the investigations, the engineering for system design, and system operation which, depending on what is being cleaned up can take 10 to 30 yrs or operating the system (along with all the supporting reports on progress to be submitted).

One of the results of the Florio administration was a draconian approach to assigning blame and State ordered clean up actions. The State refused to discuss the subject or be flexible on how cleanup would be conducted as well as assigning huge fines against the alleged offenders (just to boost State revenue). Aside from businesses and manufacturing abandoning NJ, this also resulted in the one of the many factors that identified NJ as unfriendly to businesses moving in. This also resulted in the bankruptcy and closure of many small businesses (remember the Mom & Pop gas stations?) and the large corporations immediately filed numerous counter law suits to stop Florios March to the Sea resulting in us, the taxpayer, paying huge legal fees to support the States rigid approach to handling business.

There are hazardous discharge site grants and loans available. Seethis chart on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's website for details.

I don't know if Hercules is considered a hazardous discharge site--but if it is it should qualify for a government grant or loan.

Anyone been by recently? How far along are they?

I know a guy who worked for Hercules. The stories he had were really interesting.

It's a creepy part of design work, but, they'd design buildings to minimize deaths in case of an explosion. (yikes!). Most interesting - the fire detection system in one building was sensitive enough that an open door and someone arc welding a 1/4 mile away (but in view of the door) set it off...

Scary stuff.

Oh yes, nitrocellulose has a fun trait - it gets less stable with time.

Cleanup of those sites = expensive and interesting...

No major progress, at least the kind of progress visible from Howard Boulevard.

The pedestrian tunnel is in place beneath the ROW, the supports all seem to be in place for the platforms, and no signs of any additional parking in the works (but we all knew that already).

I have also seen nothing to indicate any progess (surveying or otherwise) concerning an extension of electrification. It would seem a logical move as asking people to drive to a train station, transfer to a diesel, and then transfer for a train to Midtown (aside from those going to other NJ or NY points).

I will write someone at Martz Bus (Wilkes-Barre, PA) to see if they plan a stop at the station.

Since this station is to potentially serve a good number of PA commuters, I wonder if our contributors from NJ-ARP have any comments. Considering their stance against the Secaucus parking project, I wonder if they are in support of or are against this project.