Hercules to redevelop 400-acre surplus land Tract in question includes former site of Green Tree plant BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer SAYREVILLE - Hercules Inc. is seeking proposals to redevelop roughly 400 acres of property in the borough's Parlin section. The chemical manufacturer, which has operated on South Minisink Avenue for over 75 years, is soliciting proposals from selected candidates for the Brownfield redevelopment project on property that it considers surplus. The tract of former manufacturing space is adjacent to the company's Aqualon plant site. The 84 employees of the plant will continue normal business, according to John S. Riley, public relations director for Hercules. The plant produces natrosol, a cellulose-based thickener used in pharmaceuticals, personal care products and coatings, and construction products. The surplus property includes land that Hercules used for manufacturing, and space that was leased to Green Tree Chemical Technologies, an independent company that employed 120 workers until the plant was shut down in 2003. Hercules reassumed control of the property the following year. Green Tree produced nitrocellulose for varnish, nail polish, ink and lacquer, as well as smokeless nitrocellulose, which is used in military ammunition. An explosion and subsequent fire that occurred in several of the buildings on the site in August 2005 was attributed to nitrocellulose. Those buildings were already slated for demolition along with 90 other structures at that location. Hercules has been demolishing the buildings and removing the materials from the site since 2004, Riley said. He added that the company began considering redevelopment proposals as it neared completion of this work. "It is a careful process, because of the nitrocellulose," Riley said. "A very professional crew breaks everything down carefully." The Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission purchased 30 acres from Hercules for another redevelopment project in 2006. The commission is looking to build a 70,000-square-foot school for autistic and disabled children with two pools, adjacent to Cheesequake Road. Hercules will select a firm to redevelop the surplus property through a competitive process where it will consider "the strength of their proposal, and ... their vision for the property, a vision that must also be responsive to community input," according to a press release from Hercules. The chemical manufacturer expressed an interest in choosing a firm that has built projects that include ample public open space and a balance of land uses that benefits the town fiscally. The property is currently zoned for industrial use, Riley said. "Certainly we are interested in having an open mind as far as proposals are concerned," he said. The area does not fall under the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency's jurisdiction, according to that agency's executive director, Randy Corman. "It is not a redevelopment area," Corman said. "We have no jurisdiction over it. If they want it to be used for something other than industrial, they are going to have to have a dialogue with the mayor, the council and the Planning Board." Riley said the company is currently reviewing proposals from more than a dozen candidates, with hopes of choosing one before the end of the year. "We received very strong proposals," Riley said. "Eventually, one redeveloper will be chosen."