Former Aeromarine Terminal & Keyport Landfill — 55 Walnut Street, Keyport, NJ

Keyport deserves the timely, responsible closure of the Keyport Landfill and redevelopment of the former Aeromarine Terminal

Pacer Partners is under contract to purchase the former Aeromarine Terminal and Keyport Landfill site. Pacer intends to remediate and responsibly redevelop the site in accordance with NJDEP's rigorous standards — protecting Raritan Bay, Chingarora Creek, and the Keyport community.

Make Your Voice Heard Learn About the Site Testing Results
55
Walnut St, Keyport NJ
NJDEP
Active Regulatory Oversight
0
Residential Use Planned
Raritan Bay
Waterway Protection Priority
~12 Months
Targeted Completion After Final Approvals

Understanding the Site

The former Aeromarine Terminal & Keyport Landfill

The property is one of the largest undeveloped parcels in Keyport — comprising the former Keyport Landfill, a municipal landfill once used by the Borough, together with the former Aeromarine Terminal, situated between Raritan Bay and Chingarora Creek. The site has sat dormant for decades without completing New Jersey's formal landfill closure process. Bringing it through that process — and returning it to productive use — would benefit the surrounding waterways and the community.

The property has operated as an industrial site for more than a century. That history — together with its physical constraints and its regulatory status under New Jersey law — is why a continued non-residential use is appropriate and consistent with what this site has always been.

Aerial view of the former Aeromarine Terminal and Keyport Landfill, Keyport NJ — site boundary outlined in orange. Source: CoStar.
Former Aeromarine Terminal & Keyport Landfill, Keyport NJ — The site borders Raritan Bay to the west, Chingarora Creek to the north and east, and residential neighborhoods to the south. Site boundary outlined in orange. Source: CoStar.

The Challenge

The Path

A statewide challenge

A funded path forward

Remediating a legacy landfill like the Keyport Landfill is a serious undertaking — technically complex, heavily regulated, and expensive. It must be carried out under the strict oversight of federal and state environmental agencies. Costs are expected to reach into the tens of millions of dollars.

The Keyport Landfill is far from unique. New Jersey is home to hundreds of former landfills — most of which stopped operating decades ago, before modern environmental standards existed, and have never been properly closed. Public funding to close and remediate these legacy sites is extremely limited at every level of government, and demand far exceeds what is available. The Keyport Landfill is no exception: no federal, state, county, or municipal funding is currently dedicated to its closure. Communities across the state face this same reality — sites sit untouched for decades not for lack of concern, but for lack of a funded path forward.

Across New Jersey, when legacy landfills do get properly closed, it almost always happens the same way: through redevelopment, where a private party funds the closure and remediation as part of returning the site to productive use. That path is available here.

The site's existing redevelopment plan was adopted more than 20 years ago and predates current state regulations, which has effectively stalled both redevelopment and closure. By updating the plan and designating Pacer Partners, a qualified redeveloper, the Borough can ensure the full cost of closure is carried by private capital — under a plan developed with the Borough Council, shaped by the community's priorities, and financially feasible to actually fund the work.

Redevelopment is also the fastest path to closure. Pacer is prepared to mobilize as soon as final approvals and permits are in place, and anticipates completing the closure and redevelopment work within approximately 12 months of those approvals — a defined timeline, on a site that has otherwise gone unaddressed for decades.

A fully privately funded landfill closure and site redevelopment — at no cost to Keyport residents.

A plan developed with the Borough Council — acceptable to the community, and funded by redevelopment.

Our Approach

A privately funded path forward

The site has sat dormant for decades, its closure incomplete. Bringing it to closure will take years of investigation, engineering, and post-closure monitoring — and a partner with the capital, expertise, and commitment to see it through.

Pacer Partners has no historical relationship with any of the prior owners or operators of the property — Pacer is an arms-length buyer whose sole interest is in acquiring, remediating, and redeveloping the property. The only viable path to complete the site's closure in a timely manner is one in which the closure is funded directly by the site's redevelopment. That redevelopment will serve the best interests of the community.

1

Acquisition Under Contract

Pacer Partners is actively conducting environmental due diligence in coordination with NJDEP.

2

Environmental Investigation

In New Jersey, any party seeking to conduct environmental testing on a landfill must first obtain a Minor Disruption Permit from NJDEP — a detailed regulatory submission outlining the full scope of proposed investigation activities. Pacer, working with SESI Consulting Engineers, completed and submitted this 100+ page permit application in coordination with NJDEP beginning in August 2025 — months before recent press coverage brought public attention to the site. Pacer and SESI Consulting Engineers are conducting the environmental investigation in full coordination with NJDEP — the necessary first step toward developing an NJDEP approved workplan. View the NJDEP Keyport Landfill page →

3

NJDEP-Compliant Remediation

A NJDEP approved workplan will be developed in full coordination with NJDEP, addressing subsurface landfill materials and achieving proper landfill closure.

4

Responsible Redevelopment

Following remediation, the site will be redeveloped into a non-residential, commercially productive use — generating tax revenue and eliminating the Borough's unmitigated environmental liability. Pacer is prepared to begin this work immediately upon receipt of final approvals and permits, and anticipates completing construction within approximately 12 months of those approvals, subject to NJDEP requirements and normal construction conditions. Long-term monitoring and maintenance of the closed landfill would continue thereafter, as required by NJDEP.

5

Community Engagement

The Borough will have the opportunity to shape the redevelopment plan through the formal redevelopment process, incorporating the priorities of the community.

Our Commitments

What we are committed to

01

Complete the Remediation

An NJDEP-approved closure workplan meeting all applicable NJDEP standards.

02

Environmental Stewardship

Modern engineering controls — capping, gas management, and long-term monitoring — designed to protect Raritan Bay, Chingarora Creek, and the local ecosystem for future generations.

03

Transparent Process

Open engagement with Keyport residents, the Borough, and regulatory bodies at every stage.

04

A Good Neighbor

Landscaped plantings and screening to buffer the site from surrounding homes — ensuring the redevelopment is a good neighbor to the Walnut Street community and beyond.

The Facts on Residential Use

Why residential housing is not viable on this site

This question deserves a direct answer. Residential development is not being avoided for convenience — there are three concrete, specific reasons why it is not viable here.

Natural Resource Constraints

Residential development at the site is not feasible under current state regulations. The site is burdened by overlapping natural resource constraints: it sits in a tidal flood hazard area, the majority of the site falls within a Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA), it contains regulated wetlands, it is subject to New Jersey's waterfront development rules, and it lacks dry access. NJDEP's regulations are designed to keep residents and emergency workers out of harm's way — and taken together, these constraints make residential use prohibitive.

Environmental Conditions

Given the site's century of industrial use and its history as a municipal landfill, residential use would require remediation to New Jersey's most stringent environmental standards — strict residential thresholds for soil, landfill gas, and groundwater exposure that sites with this profile are rarely, if ever, able to meet. Non-residential redevelopment, engineered with a modern cap, gas management, and long-term monitoring, is the established path for safely returning former landfills to productive use.

Residential Not Economically Viable

Even setting aside the regulatory barriers, the economics do not work. The cost of remediating and closing the landfill to the standards required for housing far exceeds what residential development on this site could support — making residential use financially unfeasible.

The Redevelopment Question

What are we planning to build?

The honest answer: that will be decided together with the Borough. Pacer is not arriving with a predetermined project to impose on Keyport. The redevelopment plan will be shaped through the Borough's formal redevelopment process — in engagement with the Borough Council and the community — and it must meet two tests: it must be acceptable to the Borough, and it must be financially feasible, because the redevelopment is what funds the closure.

What we can say now is that this is a highly constrained site, and those constraints — not preference — will shape what gets built. The flood hazard designations, the requirements of closing a former landfill, the environmental conditions, and the economics of a remediation expected to cost tens of millions of dollars all narrow the realistic possibilities to non-residential uses. Within those constraints, we are committed to arriving at a plan the Borough can support — and we welcome that conversation.

We can also say what we would like to see included. Within the non-residential uses the site can support, we are interested in incorporating features that benefit the community — a waterfront park with a beach house, an amphitheater and sports courts, a waterfront boardwalk, and improved site access designed to take traffic off Walnut Street. These are ideas we are bringing to the table, not conditions we are placing on the Borough. Each would need to be tested against the site's flood hazard designations, the requirements of the landfill closure, and engineering feasibility — and each would be shaped through the redevelopment process with the Borough and the community.

Site Access

Keeping traffic off residential streets

The site connects directly to Route 36 via Stone Road, enabling commercial and industrial traffic to reach the highway without traveling through downtown Keyport or on the surrounding residential streets. The access plan is built to keep day-to-day truck activity off Walnut Street and out of the neighborhoods nearby.

Keyport Access Route Diagram — green line shows route inside Keyport via Stone Road; red line shows route outside Keyport to Route 36 via Stone Road Exit and Seagate Avenue Exit
Access Route Diagram — Green: route inside Keyport (Stone Road). Red: route outside Keyport to Route 36.

Community Benefits

What Keyport gains from this redevelopment

Remediating and redeveloping the former Aeromarine Terminal and Keyport Landfill can produce concrete, measurable benefits for Keyport — beyond resolving a long-standing environmental condition.

Final Landfill Closure

NJDEP-compliant landfill closure resolves a regulatory obligation that has remained open for decades, safeguarding Raritan Bay and Chingarora Creek for the long term.

New Tax Ratable

Redevelopment returns a constrained site to productive use — generating ongoing property tax revenue without placing additional burdens on municipal infrastructure.

Reduced Traffic Impact

The proposed redevelopment removes all commercial vehicles from Walnut Street and Locust Street, creates a more walkable bayfront area, and routes traffic directly to Route 36 avoiding downtown Keyport.

Onsite and Offsite Improvements

Pacer is open to discussing both onsite and offsite improvements with the Borough Council and community. We are interested in incorporating features that benefit the community — such as a waterfront park with a beach house, an amphitheater and sports courts, a waterfront boardwalk, and improved access that takes traffic off Walnut Street — along with other ideas raised locally, such as a STEM learning center or museum. Each remains subject to engineering feasibility, the site's environmental and flood constraints, and NJDEP requirements. Pacer invites the community and Borough Council to share ideas on improvements to benefit Keyport.

About the Project Team

Who is behind this effort

This is not a nameless advocacy effort. Pacer Partners is the developer with the site under contract, SESI Consulting Engineers is the environmental engineering firm conducting the site investigation, and CSG Law serves as land use counsel. Each brings specific, relevant expertise to this undertaking.

Transparency

Site testing & results

Please find a link below to review a summary of our due diligence and investigations completed by SESI and others along with a summary of the preliminary findings, and the proposed path forward.

View Summary ↗

Public Engagement

Make your voice heard

Keyport residents are stakeholders in how this site gets cleaned up and what it becomes. The formal redevelopment process will include public hearings and Borough input — but we want to hear from you now. Tell us what matters most to you about this site and this community.

Your information will be used only to engage with you about this project and will not be shared with third parties.

Thank you — your feedback has been received. We will be in touch.

Contact

Location

Keyport, New Jersey

Public Meetings

Public meeting dates and Borough council sessions related to the redevelopment will be posted here as they are scheduled. Sign up below to be notified.

Stay informed

Get updates on remediation progress, public meetings, and ways to engage with this process.