The history for this facility began in 1928 when its doors opened to serve as a state-run training school. The campus was spread over 188 acres and housed 35 buildings. It operated under the name of "North Jersey Training School" until the year 1983 where training school was replaced with the developmental center. 36% of residents were ages 22-45, 52% were between 46-64 and 12% were 65+. 49% of total patients had profound intellectual disabilities, 21% had severe disabilities, and 30% were considered to have mild/moderate disabilities. 74% off all patients were able to walk/move without assistance while 26% needed assistance or could not move at all. The facility saw its largest population in 1984 with a census of 661 living at the facility. The Developmental Center closed its doors for good in July of 2014. Well secured and protected, the property sat abandoned and owned by the state until 2017. In 2017, the property was sold to a private developer who began to demolish the buildings to make way for housing.