Kushner Real Estate Group’s plans for the former Naval Air Propulsion Center in Ewing call for a 285,152-square-foot warehouse and three standalone, 20,000-square-foot flex space structures. — Renderings by Pratt Design Studio/Courtesy: Kushner Real Estate Group
By Joshua Burd
Demolition is underway at a shuttered U.S. Navy facility in Ewing, where Kushner Real Estate Group plans to build nearly 350,000 square feet of new warehouse and flex space.
The developer on Wednesday announced the milestone at the former Naval Air Propulsion Center, located at Parkway Avenue and Jack Stephan Way, marking a major step in the township’s plan to revive a key commercial corridor. The long-vacant, deteriorating complex will ultimately give way to four buildings under KRE’s plan, including a single-story warehouse spanning 285,152 square feet and three standalone, 20,000-square-foot flex space structures, along with improvements such as new stormwater management infrastructure, landscaping and lighting, a new NJ Transit bus stop and other upgrades.
KRE Group joined Ewing Township Mayor Bert H. Steinmann, fellow municipal officials and other dignitaries earlier this week to mark the start of demolition.
“We are thrilled to embark on this revitalization effort and are proud to be the ones capable of moving this important project forward after so many years of inactivity,” said Jonathan Kushner, KRE’s president. “This redevelopment initiative, long championed by Mayor Steinmann, will complement the progress already made within the Redevelopment Zone while laying the groundwork for an innovative future.”
In a news release, the firm noted that the decommissioned Naval Air Propulsion Center was once a vital jet engine test facility from 1951 until 1997. It’s also a former General Motors Inland Fisher Guide manufacturing plant that the government requisitioned during World War II, in December 1941, paving the way for it to become Eastern Aircraft, a division of GM that would produce the Navy torpedo bomber known as the Avenger.
While the GM plant focused on aircraft production, the Navy used 1,000 acres across the street, which it had purchased from GM, to build a testing facility for jet engines, the news release said. That decision led to the establishment of the Naval Air Turbine Test Station in 1951, which became operational in 1956 and contributed greatly to advancing aviation technology.
The remaining 26.28-acre site, which is just south of Mercer County Airport and west of a Conrail railroad line, is now poised for a rebirth under KRE Group’s plan. Officials noted that it is the second and final phase of the Parkway Avenue Redevelopment Plan, which was first adopted in 2013, coming after the successful transformation of the former GM factory into the bustling Ewing Town Center with a mix of retail and residential uses.
KRE’s other improvements to the Naval Air Propulsion Center site will include surface parking, a landscaped walking trail, roadway improvements to Parkway Avenue and the addition of a traffic circle at Parkway Avenue and Jack Stephan Way.
“Today’s demolition day is a long-awaited step in our redevelopment plan that promises to breathe new life into this historic property,” Steinmann said. “As the bricks begin to fall, we are at the crossroads of history and innovation, and I am excited about the future.”
