Mahwah Sheraton imploded. Remembering the Crossroads hotel

• The 250-foot tall, 25-story hotel opened in October 1987 and it closed for good in December 2023.

The former Sheraton Crossroads hotel in Mahwah was imploded on May 10. With it went down 36 years of memories, and from it emerges an uncertain future.

The booms — there were more than a dozen of them: boom-boom-boom, then a pause, then another boom-boom-boom — were heard in New Jersey as far away as Midland Park, Wyckoff and Waldwick, and in Montebello, New York, according to Facebook comments of the livestream from the Township of Mahwah.

“Amazing precision!” said Karen Finn Boehme, one commenter.

“Hardly any dust. Amazing!” said Robert Ferguson, another one.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch nearby and lined up along Route 17 — putting tripods on the trunks of their cars and standing on tippie toes or walking across muddy fields to catch a glimpse. Their consensus was these were the hottest tickets this side of the Knicks-Celtics 3:30 p.m. tipoff. There was a Derby Day or tailgate feel — minus the booze.

“That was wild,” said Sarah Warren from West Milford, moments after the building came down. “It’s crazy to be gone. I used to drive by it all the time.” 

“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,”  said Nick Morales of West Milford.

Many Mahwah Township agencies were involved in the demolition, Township Engineer Michael Kelly said, including the fire, police, ambulance and building departments. The state Department of Labor oversees the handling of explosives in New Jersey.

Sheraton Crossroads site cleared for redevelopment in Mahwah, NJ

Check out this drone view of the implosion of the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel in Mahwah, NJ, on May 10, 2025, clearing way for two warehouse projects.

The building had been gutted and asbestos was removed. The concrete had been tested and “determined not to have any hazardous material,” said Kelly.

Many of those present Saturday were friends or employees of the town, the demolition company or any of the myriad of subcontractors involved.

Betsy Wylie of John-To-Go in Ringwood said she was there in part because her company provided the portable toilets and in part to network their use in whatever follows once the dust cloud disappeared.

“We are here because we are part of this event, however humble,” Wylie said. “We are a crucial part of any job.”

Others, like Mike Yovino, who insures the demolition company, and Denean Burke, whose son works for Dance Demolition, came from Long Island and Monmouth County, respectively, to watch.

It was Yovino’s second and Burke’s first implosions. Yovino said he also witnessed Dance take down the old Kosciuszko Bridge in Brooklyn in October 2017.

Hotel history

The 250-foot-tall, 25-story hotel opened in October 1987 and closed in December 2023. A proposal to develop a bigger building on the site has been approved, but no plan has been put forth for development.

In August, the Township Council approved a proposal by Crossroads Hotel Developers LLC to increase the 140-acre site’s allowable maximum building square footage from 1.7 million to 4 million square feet. But no plan has yet been put forward to develop the site.

Ground broke on the $90 million Crossroads in January 1986. It included office space on floors 2-12 and hotel rooms on floors 14 to 25, and was supposed to be the first phase of a $300 million International Crossroads that included another four to seven office buildings.

A month after Crossroads opened in October 1987, developer James D’Agostino conceded his vision was a “gamble,” but one that had worked for him in the past. The additional buildings were never built, and Crossroads continued to struggle for office tenants in the face of a changing market.

Remembering the Sheraton Crossroads

Memories of the hotel are plentiful but bittersweet.

For the past 37 years, the 24-story structure was a visual landmark for area residents, and those who made use of the building or its grounds at 1 International Boulevard, defying suburban dislike for tall structures.

Architect John Gilchrist of The Gilchrist Partnership was part of the team that oversaw the building’s design. He recalled the building went up quickly, and that the foundation was the “largest continuous concrete pour for a building in New Jersey.”

“It was a beautiful day in May,” Gilchrist said. “They started placing concrete at dawn and were still at it the next day.”

Gilchrist also recalls that The Record’s art critic, John Zeamon, gave the hotel’s design a “not entirely favorable architectural critique” in November 1987.

“Its major flaw is the massiveness of the base,” Zeamon wrote. “The enormous V-shaped base gives it a much chunkier shape. Buildings should blend with their surroundings. This building does nothing of the kind.”

Zeamon’s review included an anecdote by Gilchrist’s father Bob, that a raccoon made its way to the 14th floor of the unfinished building before it was evicted.

“The raccoons would follow the construction workers to eat their leftover lunches,” Gilchrist said.

Other creatures found their way inside. Rick Gorab, a local resident who shared his memories of the hotel with The Record, recalled attending a conference at the Crossroads.

“After lunch, we were listening to the speaker and watched as a mouse scampered behind him,” Gorab said.

For Robert and Hilda Murken of Mahwah, the implosion was just another chapter for the property. The pair have lived for years about a mile away.

Hilda would attend hospital events there and Robert worked there for 20 years when Ford had an auto plant at the location. Before that there was a golf course, and in the late 1930s there was an airport, the couple recalled.

Both enjoyed attending the Dead Man’s Curve car shows at the Sheraton but understand that change is inevitable.

“It’s the way it is,” Hilda said. “It’s a shame.”

The 600 members of the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce made their headquarters at the Crossroads for years, according to Board President Peter Gallo.

“It was a good building and a good location, great sights from the 12th floor,” Gallo said. “From a chamber point of view, it was very convenient because we had our offices on the second floor and we could just walk down to the first floor and use their ballrooms. We didn’t have to travel at all to events.”

Among the many couples who held their wedding reception in its ballrooms were Scott Zintel of Upper Saddle River and Kathy Hollands of Allendale in February 1990.

“It was brand new, just two years old,” Kathy said. “We had a very grand cocktail hour in the main ballroom. It was quite impressive. Scott knew the food and beverage director, who arranged to let us stay that night in the Presidential Suite. It was a real professional affair, attention to every detail.”

Marianne Pope, of Denville, was ahead of the curve, booking her wedding before the Crossroads was officially open. She wrote that her reception in 1989 “was amazing.”

Jack Curry, a Bergen County resident and analyst for the YES Network, recalled the winter night he and his wife, Pamela, had their reception there in 1992.

“As our limo drove up to the gleaming hotel, it felt like we were driving to our own private palace. There was a dusting of snow on the ground and there was a chill in the air, but the warmth that we experienced has stayed with us forever,” Curry said.

“In the ensuing years, we smiled any time we talked about the Sheraton or any time we drove by it,” he said. “For one night, it was our palace. While we won’t be able to see it anymore, those memories will continue to inspire us and lift us up.”

Crossroads may not be best known for its building, but for the 25 years the women’s Tennis Classic was held in its parking lot under various sponsorships ending in 2004.

Started by promoter John Korff in consultation with Billie Jean King to enhance women’s tour opportunities, the tournament drew crowds of 5,000 who turned it into a week-long event with chili cook-offs, a free-sample shopper’s village, and concerts by performers such as the Beach Boys.

In a 2007 interview, Korff recalled players Steffi Graf and Monica Seles hitting balls into the crowd from the stage before a Beach Boys concert. Player Jennifer Capriati made her first appearance at age 14 at the tournament.

Joe Favorito of River Vale worked the tournament for three years.

“To have elite athletes show up for the exhibition after winning Wimbledon was amazing,” Favorito said. “One year, Hall of Fame announcer Bud Collins presented Steffi Graf with a T-shirt that said ‘Melbourne, Paris, London, Mahwah.’ Someone told me the court lines are still in the parking lot.”

Adriana Bevilaqua was also part of a “small but mighty staff” that produced the week’s events.

“We used to wake up when it was dark to get going on these packed days, and each morning one of our colleagues would walk in and say it was time to make the doughnuts,” Bevilaqua said. “I met Huey Lewis and The News and made some close friends I’ll treasure forever. The whole experience was an ace.”

Mayor Jim Wysocki was a member of the township’s police force at the time, and found himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated after being assigned to serve as bodyguard to one of the players.

“It was at one of the police dinners held there that my daughter saw Santa Claus for the first time,” Wysocki said. “After that, she always called the Crossroads Santa’s House.”

Former Mayor Bill Laforet recalls planning to spruce up his Franklin Turnpike gas station in anticipation of the increased traffic from Crossroads.

“It’s sad to see it go,” Laforet said. “It has been a vital community hub for events, weddings and hotel occupancy for many of our local companies, serving our community during disasters.”

Township Council President Robert Ferguson said he is looking forward to seeing the revised plan for light industrial use proposed for the site, praising the owners for their attempts over two decades to revitalize the site.

“Demolishing the structure isn’t about erasing the past, it’s about honoring it by making room for progress,” Ferguson said. “This will bring hundreds of jobs to the area and drive business to Mahwah’s local shops and restaurants without burdening our schools or infrastructure.”