Former Verona Ham Factory May Become Affordable Housing

VERONA, NJ — For more than 60 years, the Cameco factory at the intersection of Pine Street and Bloomfield Avenue in Verona cranked out hams and turkeys for supermarkets, employing as many as 140 workers in its heyday. But if Verona town officials get their way, the defunct factory will soon serve an entirely different purpose… affordable housing.

When Cameco closed down their Pine Street location last summer, chairman and CEO Jerry Perl told MyVeronaNJ.com that plans for the property were “sort of private,” a viewpoint that Township Manager Matthew Cavallo and Mayor Kevin Ryan also espoused.

However, during a special meeting of the Verona Town Council on Saturday, local residents got a big update on the future of the 2.3-acre property when the council unanimously voted to introduce an ordinance authorizing the funding and acquisition of the Cameco Tract.

The move lays the foundation for a “tentative deal” to purchase the property and the adjacent residential houses for redevelopment to help meet the township’s affordable housing obligations, officials said.

According to Verona officials:

“The township is committed to satisfying the constitutionally required affordable housing obligation, but wishes to do so with the least amount of disturbance to currently undeveloped lands (properties) or to the well-established residential neighborhoods surrounding them. It is the goals of the township to satisfy this obligation while also preserving what open space Verona has left. The township administration and the council have been working tirelessly to work towards a settlement that meets the needs of the township and the affordable housing community.”

Verona municipal officials continued:

“It is the opinion of the township that the Cameco lot, which is conveniently located adjacent to Bloomfield Avenue is a great location for development of this type with ease of access to mass transit, especially bus routes along the avenue, and is within walking distance of the centers of three business districts which eases access to the rest of the community.”

Saturday’s ordinance is only the first step in the process for acquiring the Cameco tract. A second reading and a public hearing on the proposed ordinance are scheduled for the regular Township Council meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3 at the Municipal Building.

• See related article: Ex-Wonder Bread Factory Continues $120M Rebirth In Hoboken

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