Executives with Kurv Industrial joined Perth Amboy city officials on Monday, July 27, to break ground on a new 471,200-square-foot warehouse at 555 Market St. and dedicate 18.6 acres of adjacent land that will be turned over to the city. — Photo by Gary Gellman/Gellman Images
By Joshua Burd
Kurv Industrial has broken ground on its latest project in Perth Amboy, one that will not only create modern warehouse space but deliver a new public park and a pad-ready development site that will both be turned over to the city.
Those plans were in focus on Monday morning as the firm joined local officials for a two-part ceremony, marking the start of construction for the 471,200-square-foot logistics center and the dedication of what will be 18.6 acres of adjacent land. The facility at 555 Market St. is now on track to be completed by spring 2027, moving the city closer to the long-awaited revival of its so-called Gateway neighborhood at one of its key entry points from Route 35.
All told, the full redevelopment will transform what was a long-contaminated, 44-acre industrial property near the Victory Bridge while adding to Kurv’s footprint in Perth Amboy. Previously known as Bridge Industrial, the firm over the past decade has built a combined a 2.54 million square feet of warehouse space across two high-profile projects.
“When someone chooses to invest in our city once, that’s an opportunity,” Mayor Helmin J. Caba said Monday. “When they choose to come back and invest again — and then again — that demonstrates the confidence in where our city is going.
“And we welcome that confidence. But we also know that redevelopment, especially on properties like this one, doesn’t happen overnight. It takes remediation, it takes patience, it takes collaboration, it takes planning and infrastructure.
“It takes coordination between the public and the private sectors and, most importantly, it takes partners who are willing to stay at the table and do the work. That’s what has happened here. We’re taking property that has presented challenges, not only for years, but really for decades, and putting it back into productive use. And when we do that, we change what is possible. Not only for this project, but for the city of Perth Amboy.”
Kurv and local officials announced in spring 2025 that the developer would take the reins of the Gateway project after acquiring the full site, which is bounded by the Route 35 Victory Bridge to the west, Riverview Drive to the south and parts of Smith Street and Market Street to the north. That news came at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the two-building, 1.24 million-square-foot logistics and distribution center on State Street that marked the firm’s second project in the city and transformed 73 acres once owned by the American Smelting and Refining Co.
Just over a year later, many of those same officials were on hand to launch a project that will bring Kurv’s total development in the city to around 3 million square feet. Stefan Sansone, the firm’s senior vice president for investments in the Northeast, also noted that the company has invested some $50 million over the past decade for roadway infrastructure, environmental remediation of brownfield sites, construction of green space and dedicated land, while building facilities that create roughly 2,000 permanent jobs.
“This work is a testament to what public leadership and private investment can achieve together,” Sansone said, adding that Kurv’s third project “is about creating opportunities, renewing land and investing in the long-term health of the community. The new facility will increase economic activity and create long-term stable revenue that supports local services and schools.”
He also thanked a host of city officials led by Caba and Tashilee Vazquez, executive director of the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency, and project partners that have completed the cleanup of the site’s 44 acres. He also cited CBRE’s Tom Monahan and Larry Schiffenhaus, who are leading the leasing team for the new logistics facility.
The building will rise in the months ahead alongside the new park, which Sansone said will have picnic benches, natural areas and trails leading to a new gazebo overlooking Raritan River. That will be especially notable “as a daily reminder that redevelopment and community wellbeing can and should go hand in hand,” he said.
Vazquez, for her part, noted that the Gateway project will breathe new life into a site that, for decades, stood as a reminder of our industrial past.”
“Today it represents new business, hundreds of permanent jobs, increased ratables and continued investment in Perth Amboy,” she said. “Just as importantly, this project includes a remarkable commitment to our community.”
Caba echoed that sentiment while noting that “good redevelopment should create value beyond the property being developed” — just as the Kurv project is doing.
“And what we’re doing here is part of the work that is happening all throughout the city of Perth Amboy,” he said. “We’re improving our roads and infrastructure, investing in our city parks and public spaces and working to bring properties that have sat underused back into productive use.
“At the same time, we’re seeing private investment continue to come into the city of Perth Amboy,” Caba said. “The important thing is that those two things move together. As investments come in, Perth Amboy and the people who live here should benefit from it. Today’s project is another example of just that.”
