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The agreement was announced on the borough’s website this week.
The pact will end years of disputes regarding taxes and continued occupancy of the 189-acre tract on Parsons Pond Road by Express Scripts, currently ranked at No. 22 on the Fortune 500 list.
The company still has to formally approve the agreement, but has committed to the deal.
“This agreement, if approved, means that Express Scripts will remain a major corporate citizen in the Franklin Lakes community,” said Tim Wentworth, president of Express Scripts. “In addition, we are pleased that our donation of this parkland will preserve the beauty and recreational space for which the borough is known, and that so many of our employees enjoy.”
Key aspects of the agreement, according to the website, are:
- Express Scripts will donate approximately 84 acres of its property to the Borough (Parcel B on map), which consist primarily of parkland, recreational fields and facilities, a pond, streams, walking paths and natural woods.
- To allow for the donation, the property will be subdivided into two parcels, with 105 acres being retained by Express Scripts and 84 acres being conveyed to the borough.
- Express Scripts is requiring the property being donated be permanently deed restricted for passive and active recreational use in order to preserve the park-like setting of this corporate campus.
- All property improvements on Parcel B, including recreational fields and facilities, maintenance buildings and other structures, are included in the donation to the borough; except the parties are still negotiating as to the status of the day care facility on Parcel B.
- The borough will take ownership of Parsons Pond Drive.
- The assessed value for rezoned property will decrease from its current $118 million to $85 million beginning with the 2016 tax year.
- All pending tax appeals will be withdrawn.
For the full text of the borough’s announcement, click here.
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