WATCH: NJ’s bomb-proof military terminal comes crashing down

BAYONNE — The two six-story buildings spanning 1.5 million square feet had been built during World War II to withstand bomb blasts.

On Sunday, however, they came crashing down in an implosion.

The Military Ocean Terminal's decades-long era as a Naval and Army facility have long been over. After the rubble is cleared, East Rutherford-based Lincoln Logistics Bayonne will construct a 1.4-million-square-foot logistics complex with UPS as its anchor tenant.

The UPS lease for a 86,256-square-foot regional hub, expected to be complete by 2023, is estimated to create at least a thousand jobs, the developer said.

Demolition work on the manmade peninsula began in 2018 with the removal of a 175-foot smokestack and a 150-foot steel water tower.

To take down what was supposed to be a nearly impenetrable structure, workers first removed bomb-proof paneling and inserted explosives into the buildings' columns.

History of MOTBY

The Bayonne Military Ocean Terminal, often cited by its military initials of MOTBY, opened in 1942 on the New York Bay as a Navy base.

In 1967, the property became an Army base and shipping terminal.

The military closed the facility in 1999, beginning a decades-long process to redevelop the peninsula for residential, industrial and commercial use.

Dan Alexander contributed to this report.

Sergio Bichao is digital managing editor of New Jersey 101.5. You can contact him at sergio.bichao@twnsquaremedia.com