GAF to Relocate to Parsippany, Wayne to Lose 600 Jobs

By Daniel Hubbard

Approximately 600 jobs are moving out of Wayne due to GAF relocating its corporate headquarters to Parsippany.

The move is the latest blow to the municipalities’ economy that has taken hit after hit in recent years.

GAF will move from its 99-acre campus on Alps Road once renovations are complete on a building on Campus Drive in Parsippany are complete, the company announced last Wednesday. The company has been in Wayne for more than 30 years. 

“Our offices in Wayne, as well as this community, have been terrific for us for many years, and leaving here will be difficult,” said GAF President and CEO Bob Tafaro. “However, the building in Parsippany offers us a modern office with improved work efficiencies which will allow us to continue to improve our services to our customers while providing room for future growth.”

The move is expected to happen in 15 months, said James Murphy, GAF's vice president of business development. 

The property is assessed at $11 million. GAF paid nearly $545,000 in property taxes this year. 

Murphy said no plans have been made on what will be done with the property. It is owned by a sister company of GAF's. 

"It is fairly early on in the process," Murphy said. "No plans have been made with regards to the campus yet."

GAF is just the latest company to open or relocate to Parsippany. After a year, Prism Capital Partners announced it finished moving into its new headquarters location on Jefferson Road in Parsippany is now officially 100 percent occupied with Biomet Spine & Bone Healing Technologies completing its headquarters relocation. 

Also, next month, expect a new Buffalo Wild Wings to open up on Route 46 at the location that used to house a Chili’s, which closed in 2011. 

This isn't the only hit that Wayne has taken. Recently, Bayer HealthCare relocated its East Coast operations from Morris Township, Montville, Wayne and Tarrytown, N.Y., to Whippany. 

Ashland Specialty Ingredients, which shares GAF’s campus, announced in March it would relocate its laboratory and office space to Bridgewater.

The 83-year-old Van Peenen’s Dairy Farm on Valley Road closed last September. The third-generation owned company was marred with financial problems and debt.

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