Billionaire NFL owner wants to build affordable housing on a pristine NJ hilltop — and locals are mad as hell

New York Post

19-05-2025

Locals in West Orange, NJ aren't just shouting from the rooftops — they're shouting about what might be built above them.
A billionaire's bid to transform a pristine hilltop with Manhattan skyline views into a nearly 500-unit apartment complex is the latest drama in a decades-old land use battle in the tony town — and this time, the argument involves affordable housing.
Owned by the family of Minnesota Vikings co-owner Zygmunt 'Zygi' Wilf, the 120-acre wooded parcel in the Watchung Mountains will be developed by Wilf's Garden Homes, a real estate firm, NJ.com reported.
6 A controversial plan to build a 496-unit apartment complex—100 of which would be affordable housing—on a pristine 120-acre hilltop in West Orange, NJ, has reignited local opposition.
West Orange Planning Board
Besides clearing roughly 30 acres of woodland, the developer's vision includes a four-building, four-story complex with amenities like a clubhouse and pool. Of the 496 units, 100 are designated as affordable housing.
While the plan goes to help satisfy the township's state-mandated housing obligations, locals say the environmental and public safety risks are simply too steep.
'Public safety and irreparable environmental harm trump, if you will, affordable housing,' said Joseph Pannullo, president of grassroots group We Care NJ, in an interview with NJ.com.
The roots of the current plan trace back to New Jersey's controversial Mount Laurel Doctrine — a series of court rulings requiring municipalities to provide their fair share of affordable housing.
West Orange, like many other towns, has faced pressure to comply.
6 Spearheaded by billionaire Zygi Wilf's Garden Homes, who owns the Minnesota Vikings, the project stems from a 2020 settlement aimed at helping the township meet its affordable housing obligations under the Mount Laurel Doctrine.
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The saga began back in 2006, when the Wilf's proposed a less inclusive project for the property, which was rejected over similar concerns — including flooding, steep slopes, and limited emergency access.
Finally, in 2020, local officials struck a court-approved deal with developers — Garden Homes got the go-ahead, so long as it introduced an affordable component that helped the town meet its mandate.
'It's a situation where the law is very coercive from a municipality's point of view,' West Orange Council President Joe Krakoviak told Realtor.com. 'Municipalities' hands are very much tied because they have little, if any, influence over how many units of affordable housing to approve.'
6 While the developers argue the plan supports housing goals, residents and environmental advocates say it endangers public safety and exploits affordable housing as a loophole.
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Despite the legal issues, Krakoviak has remained outspoken in his skepticism of the Wilf proposal, citing the project's remote location and complex terrain.
'I have a tremendous amount of concern about the environmental ramifications of this proposal, as well as the appropriateness of placing lower-income residents in the proposal so far away from all of the things they need to reach,' he said to Realtor.com, noting distance from public transit and basic services.
The project has already cleared several regulatory hurdles, including receiving a stormwater permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
6 Critics—including township council president Joe Krakoviak—cite concerns over flooding, isolation from public transit, and limited emergency access on the hilly, forested site.
Google Maps
Opposition is mounting, however.
In July, the West Orange Environmental Commission asked for a delay in site plan review, raising red flags over potential damage to state-protected wetlands and two tributaries of the Canoe Brook.
A November report by environmental consulting firm Princeton Hydro also stated that the site plans did not comply with state stormwater regulations, according to NJ.com.
6 Grassroots groups argue the land, untouched and far from basic amenities, is unsuitable for development, regardless of income level.
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Rachel Klein, a local resident and We Care NJ member, accused the developers of using affordable housing as a 'guise' to push through a plan that has previously been deemed unsafe.
'[They] thought we'd be afraid of being accused of NIMBYism,' she told Realtor.com. 'If it was unsafe for 136 homes that would have been worth $1 million at the time, why is suddenly throwing poor people into it making it safe? That makes no sense to us.'
Klein, who has lived near the mountain since 2016, emphasized that her objection is not to affordable housing itself, but to the placement.
6 The plan is under review by the West Orange Planning Board.
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'The need is there, for sure, and the town is working on it. But the problem is West Orange is already exceedingly overdeveloped,' she said. 'This is just not the appropriate place for it.'
As part of the plan, the remaining undeveloped acreage would be preserved as green space and recreational trails, and developers have proposed replanting trees lost to construction. But critics remain unconvinced that mitigation measures can reverse the impact of clear-cutting a mature forest.
According to Realtor.com, the median list price in the surrounding area is $599,725, underscoring the contrast between market-rate housing and the proposed affordable component.
While Garden Homes has not commented publicly, the township planning board is still reviewing site plans, with the next public hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
For now, the mountaintop remains a flashpoint — caught between the urgent need for affordable housing and the equally pressing calls to preserve what locals see as one of the last untouched natural spaces in Essex County.
'I fully expect opposition to the project to grow well beyond the board's decision,' Krakoviak told NJ.com.