Elizabeth sets Oct. 27 vote on another 30-year warehouse tax break: $758,013 a year, project cost not listed

On the agenda: nothing in this report has been voted on. Jersey Intel will report the outcome from the city’s official record.

Elizabeth’s City Council is scheduled to take a final vote Tuesday, Oct. 27, on a 30-year tax exemption for a new 207,800-square-foot warehouse on Elizabeth Avenue and Butler Street. City records show the developer would pay an annual service charge of $758,013, with increases, instead of regular taxes on the building. The records the council has posted do not list what the project will cost.

The project

According to the ordinance’s published legal notice, CenterPoint Butler Urban Renewal LLC applied for a long-term tax exemption for a new single-story warehouse at 110-140 Elizabeth Avenue (Block 780, Lot 1.01) and 31-35 to 49-51 Butler Street (Block 779, Lots 30 through 35). The building would have 207,800 square feet of floor area, 78 car parking spaces, 42 loading docks and 44 trailer spaces. The notice says the project would create about 100 construction jobs and 50 to 75 permanent jobs “based on the occupying businesses.” It does not name a tenant.

The council adopted a redevelopment plan for the site, Ordinance 6110, on April 22, 2025, according to the notice. The Planning Board’s Jan. 15, 2026 agenda listed a resolution on the company’s preliminary and final site plan for a “new warehouse and distribution facility,” and its May 7 agenda listed an amended site plan for the same applicant at 20-52 Butler Street. The council’s Oct. 13 agenda describes the property as “the former Thomas & Betts site.”

The ordinance does not name the company behind the urban renewal entity. CenterPoint Properties, an industrial real estate firm based in Oak Brook, Ill., lists 20-52 Butler Street in Elizabeth on its website as a 260,372-square-foot building on 11 acres.

The notice says the council finds the exemption will benefit the city “by furthering the development of the presently vacant property,” and that “without the incentive of the tax exemptions, it is unlikely that the Project will be undertaken.” It also says the roof of the existing building, which is to be demolished, carries cell towers under an easement held by an unrelated company, LD Holdings LLC. Those towers would return after construction and be taxed separately.

The payment, and what’s missing

The figure comes from a letter dated Oct. 6 from the city’s chief financial officer, which the council received at its Oct. 13 meeting. The letter, as summarized on the agenda, asks the council to approve a 30-year abatement and says the project “would provide an Annual Service charge to the City of $758,013.00 with incremental increases.” The same agenda listed a resolution approving the agreement and authorizing the mayor to sign it, which “shall not become effective until approved by ordinance.”

The agenda does not give the project’s total cost. The ordinance says the exemption application and the financial agreement are on file with the City Clerk. Neither is posted on the city’s website, and Ordinance 6330 was not yet on the city’s online ordinance list as of Wednesday morning.

That matters because of how state law sets these charges. Under New Jersey’s Long Term Tax Exemption Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:20-12), the annual service charge must be at least 10% of the project’s annual gross revenue or, if the city chooses or revenue can’t be reasonably determined, at least 2% of total project cost. At $758,013, the charge would meet the 2% floor only if the project costs about $37.9 million or less. Under the revenue method, it would match 10% of about $7.6 million in yearly gross revenue.

The law sets one more floor: the annual charge can’t be less than the total taxes levied on the property in the last full year it was taxed before the exemption. The city’s posted records don’t say what the site pays in taxes now. The law also lets the developer take a credit against the charge for land taxes it pays.

How it compares

In July, the council approved a 30-year exemption for a cold-storage warehouse being built for FreezPak Logistics on the former Phelps Dodge site, Ordinance 6311. That deal set an annual service charge of about $705,985 for a 146,068-square-foot building with an estimated cost of $82 million, as Jersey Intel reported.

Per square foot, the CenterPoint Butler charge works out to about $3.65 a year, compared with about $4.83 for the FreezPak building. The two buildings differ, since one is a cold-storage facility, and the city’s posted records don’t say how either charge was calculated.

State law requires the city to send 5% of the charge to Union County, or about $37,900 a year at $758,013. The Elizabeth school district gets no set share. A district receives PILOT money only through a separate agreement with the city under a 2023 law tied to school construction bonds.

Questions before the vote

• What is the total project cost in the exemption application, and which method, revenue or cost, sets the $758,013 charge?
• How much does the property pay in taxes now, and does $758,013 clear the law’s floor of the last full year’s taxes?
• Who will occupy the warehouse, and how will the 50 to 75 permanent jobs be tracked?
• The ordinance calls the site “presently vacant property.” Is the existing building empty, and when would it come down?
• Will any of the payment go to Elizabeth’s schools?

Help us cover it

The Oct. 27 hearing is open to the public, and residents can speak before the vote. If you attend, record or have documents about this project, including the exemption application or financial agreement, send them to jerseyintel@gmail.com.

Jersey Intel has requested the application and financial agreement from the city under the Open Public Records Act and is seeking comment from the city and the developer. This story will be updated with any response.