Secaucus Admits It Never Reviewed Plans for 125 MW Data Center Expansion, Secured No Community Benefits

Secaucus Town Administrator Gary Jeffas disclosed in written responses released Monday that municipal officials never reviewed the specific development plans submitted by Equinix and CoreSite for two already-approved data center expansions that will collectively draw 125 megawatts of new electricity, and that the town negotiated zero dollars in community benefit payments from either project. The admissions came just 24 hours before the Town Council was scheduled to vote on an 80-megawatt per-facility zoning cap ordinance.

According to Jeffas, the town only learned the combined power load of the two projects after he emailed both companies on October 8—two and a half hours after a local television station filed a public records request for data center power and tax documents. In his written response, Jeffas stated that Equinix's expansion at 275 Hartz Way will have a maximum usage of 50 megawatts, while CoreSite's facility at 215 County Avenue will draw up to 75 megawatts, adding: "Please note that I did not review specific plans submitted by the entities." The combined 125 megawatts is roughly equivalent to the electricity demand of 100,000 to 125,000 typical New Jersey homes, concentrated within a municipality covering just 5.8 square miles.

CoreSite spokeswoman Megan Ruszkowski confirmed that the company's existing Secaucus data centers—NY2 and NY3 at 2 Emerson Lane—use a combined 39 critical megawatts, and that its third facility, NY4 at 215 County Avenue, is designed to support 64 critical megawatts at full build, bringing CoreSite's Secaucus campus alone to 103 critical megawatts. She noted that the company builds each data center in phases over several years and does not expect NY4 to reach full capacity until well into the 2030s. CoreSite added that its plans for NY4, first presented to the town in August 2024, have not materially changed since the Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing in May 2026.

When asked whether the town would seek a Community Benefit Agreement or any host payments from either project, Jeffas replied: "Not at this time. Both of these projects have been approved." He suggested the approvals predated Governor Sherrill's platform favoring specific community benefit agreements for data centers. The nine data center properties on the town's tax rolls generate $11.04 million in 2026 property taxes across $242.1 million in net assessed value, yet the 446,761-square-foot CoreSite facility will employ a maximum of roughly 20 employees per peak shift, and the town secured no dedicated host-community fees, grid-impact mitigations, or park and school contributions beyond ordinary property taxes. By contrast, when Hartz Mountain sought approval for a warehouse under the state's Aspire tax-credit program in July 2026, the Town Council adopted a formal Community Benefit Agreement requiring a $50,000 park contribution.

The proposed 80-megawatt cap ordinance, scheduled for introduction Tuesday night, would not affect either approved expansion. Both projects fall individually beneath the 80-megawatt threshold while adding 125 megawatts combined. Moreover, the ordinance amends the town's industrial zoning chapter, which applies only to roughly 12 percent of Secaucus—leaving out the 88 percent inside the state's New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority district where all existing data centers and both expansions are located.

Tax records also reveal that affiliates of Secaucus-based developer Hartz Mountain Industries own four of the nine data center parcels on the town's tax list, accounting for $125.8 million in net assessed value, or 51.9 percent of the entire data center tax base. Campaign finance filings show Hartz Mountain contributed $11,080 to Mayor Michael Gonnelli's Moving Secaucus Forward committees, including $3,600 in 2025, plus $5,000 to the Hudson County Democratic Organization. When asked why those contributions did not trigger an itemized campaign finance report, Jeffas left the question completely blank in his written response.

The records further show that the net tax assessment on Hartz's 425 Meadowlands Parkway data center parcel dropped 30.1 percent from $8.585 million to $6 million starting in 2024, saving roughly $117,900 annually, while the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority voted 5-0 in July 2026 to allow Hartz to pay a $2.47 million sewer connection fee in installments. Additionally, Equinix and CoreSite deduct $3.3 million in assessed value under New Jersey's mandatory fire-suppression system tax exemption, saving approximately $150,605 per year.

The Zoning Board's 5-0 vote approving CoreSite's NY4 facility in May and June 2026 included yes votes from Commissioner John Hugerich, a project manager at his family's construction firm that collected between $1.07 million and $1.19 million from the town between 2022 and September 2026 and was the sole bidder on the town's heavy-equipment contract, and Commissioner Maryam Eldesouki, who was paid $24,855 by Secaucus as Planning and Zoning Board Secretary while working full-time at Hudson County Schools of Technology. Asked what conflict screening applies to board members whose firms hold town contracts, Jeffas said the Zoning Board has an assigned attorney who would deal with conflicts if required. That firm, Florio Kenny Raval, collected over $315,000 net from Secaucus and donated $600 to Gonnelli's slate, $31,000 to the Hudson County Democratic Organization, and $12,300 to County Executive Craig Guy.

The disclosures also revealed that Equinix's 50-megawatt expansion at 275 Hartz Way sits at the same campus where an overfill-protection valve failure during internal fuel polishing on September 11, 2026 released an estimated 5,200 to 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel. State environmental officials determined that the approved expansion will push the combined facility over the 200,000-gallon threshold for New Jersey's stringent major facility discharge prevention regulations.

Water usage remains another unresolved issue. The town's October 16 public Q&A acknowledged that the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority is still conducting an analysis of data center cooling systems, water usage, and water chemistry—five months after the Zoning Board approved the 215 County Avenue facility. Jeffas said the authority is now in the process of re-confirming water flow amounts, adding that when a data center is approved for operation, the amount of water flow is estimated and checked from time to time for accuracy.

The town introduced a 2026 budget in April raising the municipal tax levy by 7.13 percent, or roughly $245 on the average home, even as data center properties claimed $3.3 million in fire-sprinkler assessment deductions and the town sought zero community benefit agreements on 125 megawatts of newly approved data center expansions.