KEARNY, N.J. — Though small, this town has played an aircraft-carrier-size role in naval history.

Numerous warships set sail from the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company here on the Hackensack River. And after tours in areas like the South Pacific and Korea, famous vessels were sliced up and sold as scrap here, too.

Now, the facility is embarking on a new mission. As former shipyards across the country reinvent themselves, the site in Kearny (pronounced CAR-nee) is being made over as a mixed-use industrial park, called Kearny Point, that favors start-ups making products like bath oils, piñatas and chocolates.

“We had a decision to make,” said Wendy Kelman Neu, the chief executive of the Hugo Neu Corporation, the landlord, referring to the time after Hurricane Sandy swept through in 2012. “What should we do with the site? What could we do that would be transformative?”