A developer is putting the finishing touches on a massive redevelopment, almost a decade after purchasing the shuttered Honeywell plant along Route 46.
TETERBORO -- A developer is putting the finishing touches on a massive redevelopment, almost a decade after purchasing the shuttered Honeywell plant along Route 46.
Construction on Teterboro Landing, a 55-acre redevelopment, is nearly complete and all tenants are expected to be open by April, said Todd Schefler, executive vice president of development for Catellus.
Catellus first bought the property in 2007. It was a former aircraft-parts factory built by the Bendix Aviation Corp., later purchased and closed by Honeywell.
The place needed work, Schefler said. Catellus would need to demolish the 1 million-square-foot factory and remediate contaminated soil before even building.
Schefler wouldn't say exactly how much Catellus spent, but said such projects typically cost between $100 and $200 million. It was a risk worth taking, Schefler said.
"Finding 55 acres in Bergen County on a highway is almost impossible," he said.
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The two biggest retail tenants, Walmart and Costco, opened in 2015. The center also has a "Restaurant Row" along Industrial Avenue.
Some of the restaurants, like Habit Burger and Panera, have opened, while Blaze Pizza, Sarku Japan, Texas Roadhouse, Halal Guys, Chic-fil-A and Chipotle are on the way. Chic-fil-A is the only tenant in the center whose building isn't complete.
The former Bendix factory, built in 1938, produced equipment for the moon landing, parts for the F22, the Hubble Space Telescope and much of the United States' World War II airfleet.
"There was virtually not an Allied aircraft that didn't fly without one of our parts during the war," Robert Sanders, a former plant executive, said in a 2004 Star-Ledger story.
The plant employed 13,000 people at its peak. Teterboro was briefly named "Bendix" after the company, and a diner at the intersection of Routes 17 and 46 still bears its name.
When it closed, it left behind contamination in the form of PCBs, chemicals believed to cause cancer.
The plant's history is reflected in a small park on the property near Route 46, Schefler.
The rise of the shopping center has transformed tiny Teterboro, which has a population of less than 70. A group more than twice that size works at Walmart alone.
"We're very pleased with the development and how it's coming along," said Nicholas Saros, municipal manager.
There have been adjustments: Catellus paid for improvements to ramps off Route 46 and surrounding roads. The biggest growing pains are probably for local police.
Teterboro doesn't have its own police force. The Moonachie Police Department patrols the borough as part of a shared service agreement.
The department responded to 220 motor vehicle crashes in Teterboro from the start of the year through Oct. 16. Before Walmart, there were typically less than 50 in a year.
The stores have also been a source of crime, particularly shoplifting. This year, Moonachie police have made more arrests in Teterboro than they have in their own town, by a margin of 64 to 29.
Each arrest can tie up an officer for an hour or more, significant for a police force of 17, Detective Sgt. Anthony Fugnitti said.
While Sgt. Richard Behrens, the officer in charge of the department, emphasized the center is safe, its opening has changed the nature of their job in Teterboro, where calls used to involve fender benders in the Honeywell parking lot.
Saros said both Teterboro and Moonachie would review the shared services agreement when it expires at the end of 2017. He said he meets regularly with Catellus and Walmart to discuss security.
Tenants at the Teterboro Landing have reported strong sales, Schefler said, including from pilots at neighboring Teterboro Airport, who stop at Panera Bread for their morning coffee. It wasn't always to see when Catellus first bought the property in the midst of a financial crisis.
"You draw a lot of things on paper," he said, "but you don't know how well it will all work until it comes to fruition and opens."
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.