Preserving New Jersey’s Industrial Heritage: A Business Feasibility Study Assessing the Restoration and Reuse of the Hackensack Waterworks

Recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the eleven most endangered historic places in the United States, the Hackensack Water Works is a monument to New Jersey’s industrial past. Since its donation to Bergen County in 1993, the site has languished in a state of abandonment and disrepair due to a lack of funding and common vision for the site. The Rutgers Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability, through interactions with government representatives and public stakeholders, has identified the creation of a business feasibility study as a crucial next step toward the restoration of the historic water works. This study included an examination of comparable projects, an analysis of supply and demand conditions in Bergen County, a financial model for potential cash flows given specific assumptions, and recommendations for a possible nonprofit entity to engage in public/private partnership with Bergen County.