Andover Township is in the crosshairs of a predatory developer known as National Land Developers LLC.
As you may know, the township, after public outcry, passed a resolution barring data centers from being constructed. This was in response to an attempt by NLD to build on vacant land at 248 Stickles Pond Road, whereas the Township Council acquiesced to their constituency and in May passed Ordinance 2026-13, which prohibited data centers throughout the township and repealed the previous ordinances permitting such use.
In response, NLD has filed suit in Sussex County Court seeking an order invalidating the ordinance, prohibit the township from enforcing it, and award attorney’s fees, costs and other relief.
It’s clear that this company - which, by the way, isn’t even a New Jersey entity wants to bully their way into Andover Township and force its residents to accept what they clearly don’t want.
Does NLD think that’s being a good neighbor?
Excessive water use, increased power demands, land sprawl, polluting the clean air of Sussex County, and a constant noise coming from these buildings - is this what Andover Township (or anywhere in the county, for that matter) wants or needs?
And once NLD gets their greedy hooks into Andover, do you think they’ll stop there? Every town in Sussex County will become a target. And don’t expect the Sussex County Board of Commissioners to do anything about it. They haven’t lifted a finger yet.
National Land Developers, LLC (NLD) is a privately held commercial real estate development and investment company that specializes in acquiring, entitling, and developing industrial and commercial land across the Northeastern United States. Founded in 2020 and led by company president Joseph Marley (the sole owner), the firm focuses on transforming raw or underutilized land into high-value projects like warehousing, logistics centers, manufacturing sites, and data centers. The company operates out of Media, Pa., and focuses heavily on the tri-state logistics corridor (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware),
Put simply, he buys and builds, and then sells off the data centers to enrich himself so he can invest elsewhere, a venture capitalist, to be sure, but a modern-day robber baron. He has no interest in the communities he invests in, other than to drain as much as he can from them.
Towns have fought back against these predators. In Milford , Pa., NLD withdrew its application and terminated its contract to build a massive commercial warehouse following intense community pushback. The developer proposed building a 435,000-square-foot warehouse at 247 Route 6. However, local residents organized a major grassroots campaign against the project. The primary concern was environmental. The proposed warehouse sat directly above a vital local aquifer, and residents feared the facility’s construction and runoff would contaminate the regional water supply. Rather than fighting the town or filing a lawsuit, National Land Developers completely withdrew its land development applications and terminated its agreement to purchase the property in December 2023.
This is a fight that transcends political lines. Sussex County is known for pristine lands and some of the cleanest air you can breathe. You should not want or need someone like Joseph Marley and National Land Developers coming in to ruin that so he can make a buck at your expense.
Michael Schackenberg
Newton
