City taking bids on property on Mays Landing Road, area seeing real estate interest

Joseph P. Smith, Vineland Daily Journal
·3 min read

VINELAND — The city says it is getting serious about selling off unwanted land and one that is immediately priced to go — for a minimum bid of $64,000 — is a tract it recently picked up at 1544 Mays Landing Road in a tax foreclosure case.

The real estate climate may be ripe for a quick sale, too.

The City Council, at its Jan. 24 meeting, approved advertising the property for sale. Council was told a list of similarly unwanted properties is being compiled.

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“We’re starting to look at all the city properties that we have, circulate notices,” city Solicitor Richard Tonetta said. “And if they’re not needed for public purposes? Get rid of them. And I don’t care what they’re purchased for. At least, we don’t have to maintain them anymore. We get them off our back. Somebody’s paying taxes on them.”

The 6.58-acre parcel on Mays Landing Road is in a stretch near the Millville border that has seen numerous private real estate transactions starting in early 2021 through early 2022. All the sales involve LJR Real Estate LLC, with an office at 92 Reese Road in Millville.

Vineland City Council, city staff, and a resident talk at a pre-meeting session Tuesday night, with topics ranging from the night's regular meeting agenda items to the future of trash collection. Far left: Resident Steve Lewis, a frequent attendee, talks to Administrator Robert Dickenson. PHOTO: Jan. 24, 2023.
Vineland City Council, city staff, and a resident talk at a pre-meeting session Tuesday night, with topics ranging from the night's regular meeting agenda items to the future of trash collection. Far left: Resident Steve Lewis, a frequent attendee, talks to Administrator Robert Dickenson. PHOTO: Jan. 24, 2023.

Property records show LJR Real Estate in that period bought about 99 acres along Mays Landing Road, including farmland. The company's Reese Road address also is home to Northeast Precast, which is well into development of its own industrial park off Route 55 and South Lincoln Avenue here.

The city evaluates the Mays Landing property as developable, though its road frontage area is deficient under zoning rules. City officials say Wheaton Industries used it to dump waste glass after acquiring the land in December 1974.

In May 2022, Vineland went to state court to seize the Mays Landing Road parcel for delinquent property taxes. The minimum sales bid would recoup about $35,000 in back taxes, the city says.

City Clerk Keith Petrosky said the terms of sale put responsibility for any necessary cleanup on the buyer.

At the same recent meeting, the council approved Vineland Industrial Commission accepting a $65,000 bid on a small property known as the “blue hole” tract.

“Nobody wanted it, you know, when we did the new industrial park,” Tonetta said. “It’s just that big pond, a lake. And so, we decided, ‘We’re going to sell it.’ And somebody put in a bid for it.”

The land is what remains from a recently approved subdivision of land on the westerly side of North Mill Road, between West Oak Road and Industrial Way. It was created from a roughly 6-acre parcel on which an option to buy is held by Rovagnati North America, a food processor at 2290 W. Oak Road.

The buyer is GMR Blue Hole LLC. It has agreed to use it “solely for non-commercial recreational purposes,” according to the city.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: City wants $65K, at least, for foreclosed Mays Landing Road property