Lakewood Industrial Park Lakewood New Jersey

The Birth of Lakewood Industrial Park

During the late 1960's, the leadership of the Township considered an active campaign for business and industry to make up for the loss of the hotels and the declining egg production businesses. Many who lived in Lakewood commuted to New York City and Metropolitan New Jersey to work. If the township could attract business to Lakewood, many residents could work where they lived.

A survey by the Lakewood Township governing body disclosed that the township had more than fifty percent of its land vacant, much of which was sold by old newspaper-subscription real estate schemes. Lots were offered to subscribers for very little money despite being extremely small (20' x 60') and in the heavily wooded areas of Lakewood. Those sections of lots were sold in the late 1920's in subdivisions with "paper" streets in a grid pattern.

1960's studies showed that there were some 50,000 parcels of approximately 1,000,000 lots which were undeveloped. Many of these lots were owned by individuals and families having been passed down to them by relatives. This resulted in what was termed "wildcat" lots - lots having diverse ownership, unknown ownership, and owners difficult to locate.

The Township established an In-Rem Foreclosure Department led by an attorney whose main objective was to bring the lots back into title so that the land could be developed for tax paying use. This office, established in 1965, has continued to this date in restoring title to unused land which, by policy of the governing body, has been the major land used by the Lakewood Industrial Commission which had been formed in the 1960's to promote industrial use. Other properties were given to the Lakewood Board of Education for the construction of schools, while other lands have been used for recreational purposes.

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With policy established by the Lakewood governing body, the Industrial Commission (made up of voluntary citizens with varied experience) was appointed and began planning for the construction of its Industrial Park at the Route 70 location.

An application was made to the Federal government for a grant to construct the infrastructure of the first planned park. Lakewood received the largest grant given to any municipality in the country to begin this work. The grant was $2.2 million dollars and was matched by a similar amount from a township bond issue. Together, this provided $4.4 million dollars to develop the first 500-acre park. The work included engineering, subdivision maps, the construction of roads and curbs, the installation of drainage, public water and sewer systems, and the installation of gas mains and electricity.
In subsequent years, the park has grown to 1,800 acres and is divided into three sections which include the Lakewood Industrial Park on Route 70 (which includes the Lakewood Corporate Park), the Lakewood Industrial Campus (north of the original industrial development), and the Lakewood Industrial Park with rail in the Prospect Street and James Street area in the western section of the town.

A fourth section of the industrial development is in the final stages of engineering and planning and involves four hundred additional acres on Pine Street, west of New Hampshire Avenue. This park will be called the Lakewood Industrial Park Campus West. Just south of this will be a new section of fifty-seven acres designated the Lakewood Pine Street South Industrial Park. This tract will be subdivided into two acre lots while the Industrial Campus West will have three acre lots.

Lakewood's planning has become attractive to industrial clients who seek its preferred location. Lakewood's Industrial Parks now include some 220 companies with approximately 11,000 jobs in 1,800 acres of developed land.

Products include electronic equipment, printing, pharmaceuticals, industrial ovens, steel fabrication, medical electronics, furniture, motors, carpets, masonry blocks, egg distribution, chemicals, plastics, food products, electromagnetic devices, candy, film, industrial refrigeration, toiletries, rubber and silicone products, athletic equipment, computer-based facilities, warehousing, research laboratories, and developer and construction companies.

The total size of developed buildings are approximately seven million square feet. There is also research and development activity in the park. The growth of international companies include Japanese, French, German, Swedish and English as well as other international companies and national firms whose business varies with the needs of the Northeast U.S. markets. The major companies are well known in the packaging of health aids, household cleaners, pharmaceuticals, soaps, detergents and cosmetics.

The Industrial Park is also fortunate to have Lakewood Airport in the complex as well as major roads and State Highways such as Route 9, Route 70 and Route 88. There is also easy access to the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 195.

The location is central to Northeast markets with heavy freight accessible by the Lakewood rail freight service. Prominent transportation and shipping companies have established their location in Lakewood including Federal Express, United Parcel Service, Yellow Freight and other trucking companies to accommodate the movement of products, both raw and finished, to the markets. The United States Postal Service also has established a regional postal center in the major park (Campus) to accommodate the need for postal service.

The Industrial Park has transformed this area of Lakewood into a place of business and industry on par with any other of its type in the United States.

Interested in starting a business? Let the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce help. Would you like more information about the
Lakewood Industrial Park? Please contact us @ 732.363.0012 or e-mail us, staff@mylakewoodchamber.com

For more information please see our Business Relocation page and learn about Lakewood's Urban Enterprise Zone.

Links to other Industrial Parks in NJ and New Jersey Industrial Park Information

http://philadelphia.bcentral.com/philadelphia/stories/1996/11/25/list.html

http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/industrial_busn.asp

http://www.umich.edu/~nppcpub/resources/ResLists/Ind.Ec.html

Not a member of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce? Click here to JOIN NOW! Need more information? Click here or call us at 732-363-0012.