New Brunswick: A Vibrant Transformation

New Jersey Business, Apr 01, 2004 by Prior, James T

New Brunswick, the home of Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey and Johnson & Johnson, has been transforming itself in recent years into a vibrant city with the construction of major governmental, office and retail complexes, the emergence of an internationally recognized cultural center and the development of new public schools and world-class health care institutions.

Private developers are creating places to live, work, shop and play. Investment is pouring into the city and new market-rate housing is proliferating. It is home to a half dozen fine dining restaurants that rank among the best in the state, and it has a plethora of pubs and a vibrant nightlife. It is a manageable city. It is a city that's alive.

Much of the credit for the metamorphosis of this metropolis rests with the New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco), a non-profit urban real estate development companies, which has been successful in identifying opportunities, securing the interest and resources of stakeholders and moving projects from concept to concrete. Devco Chairman George Zoffinger, who is also CEO of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, a banker and former State Commerce Commissioner, and Devco President Chris Paladino have skillfully guided the non-profit agency to unparalleled success. Devco has been a public partner with a number of private developers, namely: Matrix, The Advance Group, Applied Company, Roseland Properties, Pennrose Prop-erties and Keating Construction. It works in tandem with a receptive city administration.

Zoffinger says New Brunswick has advanced development, where many of the state's urban centers have floundered, because Devco has been partnering for many years with developers to move the projects, "We've had a head start over other cities," he explains.

Devco has been able to link the city and county governmental, retail, cultural and transportation hubs with $750 million of new commercial, office, retail and entertainment development. Office buildings, medical complexes, retail and a wide spectrum of housing are coming out of the ground at worksites around the city, particularly the core city.

In 1999, Matrix, based in Cranbury, purchased two office buildings totaling 210,000 square feet of space and nine acres of adjacent land in the downtown part of the city. Since then, Matrix has embarked on a multi-million-dollar upgrade to the existing buildings and, at the same time, has worked with city officials to design a plan to develop the vacant land.

Within two short years, Matrix, in partnership with the city, Devco, the New Brunswick Parking Authority, Roseland Properties of Short Hills and Applied Companies of Hoboken, has begun work on a major redevelopment of those nine acres that will include about 850 luxury residential apartment units, 30,000 square feet of retail space and a 1,700-car parking structure.

This trio of companies (Matrix, Roseland and Applied) is developing the 7.5-acre site in a $150-million project. Applied and Roseland will construct a 1,050-space parking garage, 23,000 square feet of retail space, 750 market-rate rental units with a pool, tennis courts and on-site parking,

When completed, this complex will have transformed one more underutilized parcel into a vibrant, economically-viable urban neighborhood.

The Advance Group, Bedminster, a development company headed by President Peter Cocoziello, which is this year marking its 25th anniversary (see related story in this issue), is involved in development of the $102-million Heldrich Plaza. The Plaza, on a triangle of land in front of The State Theatre, will include a 250-room hotel, a 50,000 square-foot conference center to be managed by Benchmark Hospitality, 30 luxury condominiums, retail space and room for Rutgers University's Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Set to be completed in 2005, The Plaza will also house the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development.

The 15-story Heldrich Plaza, measuring 550,000 square feet of space and housing the Center for Workforce Development, hotel, housing and office space, will result in 2,000 construction jobs and create 500 new permanent positions. It will increase municipal tax ratables for this 1.8-acre parcel by some 500 percent.

Officials say that when completed, Heldrich Plaza will allow redevelopment and rehabilitation to progress more rapidly for one of the city's most challenging neighborhoods, the lower George Street area. Development of this area with a blend of market-rate, senior and affordable housing, a mixed-used entertainment and retail district and improved access to the waterfront, will link for the first time the downtown with the Cook and Douglass College campuses of Rutgers University

Ground was broken in February for College Hall, a 186-unit Student apartment building at the comer of George and New Streets. It is a public-private partnership among Devco, Pennrose Properties, Rutgers University and the New Brunswick Parking Authority.

The residential tower, across the street from The Bloustein School and the Heldrich Plaza construction site, will also offer street-level retail and space for Rutgers to use for student life activities. University President Richard L. McCormick, speaking at the groundbreaking, said the I I story facility will combine a quality university residential experience with the amenities of an urban lifestyle. It will accommodate 671 students. The four-student units will cost $5,950 per student, including utilities, for a year. All units will have cable and Internet service. Some apartments will have two double-sized bedrooms, while other units will feature three single bedrooms.