AT A GLANCE
Local offices in Fairfield, South Bound Brook and Hammonton, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Melville, NY and Manhattan
Year founded: 1964
Number of engineers, planners and scientists involved in commercial real estate in New Jersey: 184
Areas of expertise in real estate: Environmental due diligence/remediation; land-use/urban planning; EHS and sustainability; hazardous materials; geotechnical engineering; water resources; and contractor services.
OUR CLIENTS
GZA’s clients include developers; commercial, warehouse, industrial and multifamily residential site owners; architects; lawyers; utilities; and government entities.
OUR ADVANTAGE
GZA’s focus on mitigating risk — arising from regulatory/zoning approvals and subsurface and built-space conditions — is relevant to any real estate development.
This year, GZA invited Equity Environmental Engineering to join our firm, expanding our urban planning resources. GZA’s multidisciplinary services include land use consulting, zoning/permitting, environmental due diligence, environmental consulting, geotechnical engineering and construction phase services. We help clients assess and navigate the development process, realizing the greatest potential from a site while minimizing investment risk.
ON THE HORIZON
The Gateway Program, in conjunction with state funding (i.e., Transit Village and Safe Streets to Transit grants) and Infrastructure Investment Act sources, will spur transit-oriented development.
Local planning for station areas has been robust and should continue as communities prepare for access to one-seat rides from an additional transit tunnel under the Hudson. Many parcels proximate to transit are currently categorized as brownfields and will require environmental clean-up. Developers may also seek designation as Areas in Need of Redevelopment or rezoning to achieve the change of use and density desired.
Helping clients clear environmental due diligence and land use hurdles early in the redevelopment process is our priority. These efforts will increasingly address environmental justice and resiliency concerns.
GZA will continue to assist clients with a full gamut of services to help them optimize any site’s value.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
GZA has supported QuickChek Corporation’s property transactions and retail development for 20+ years. At over 100 locations, GZA has provided environmental due diligence, environmental consulting and geotechnical engineering services related to construction of food stores and installation of fuel facilities.
Where fuel services will be introduced, GZA’s initial site characterization documents existing environmental conditions, thus protecting QuickChek from potential future liability risk. GZA also coordinates regulatory compliance and field management of UST removal and installation. Given the wide variety of geology and soil conditions within QuickChek’s territory, GZA often consults on constructability issues (high water tables, soil/slope stability, existing subsurface contamination, geotechnical suitability of native and import materials, and ground improvement). GZA also provides foundation recommendations.
The long-term relationship with this commercial real estate client is supported not only by the GZA team’s institutional knowledge of QuickChek’s requirements and protocols, but by GZA’s multidisciplinary services that support QuickChek’s property transactions and development of locations with varied environmental and geotechnical conditions.
