® REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION REPORT Along the Rails DEVELOPERS FLOCK TO TRANSIT STATIONS Ambitious projects mix residential & commercial Their targets: commuters, empty-nesters, millennials REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION REPORT ® Table of contents 220 DAVIDSON AVE., SUITE 302 SOMERSET, NJ 08873 PHONE (732) 246-7677 Letter to readers .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 FAX (732) 846-0421 PUBLISHER Ken Kiczales [email protected] Whistle stops: GENERAL MANAGER AnnMarie Karczmit [email protected] The Link at Aberdeen .......................................................................................................................................................................................4 ADVERTISING SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE The Grande at Metropark .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Penelope Spencer [email protected] ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Susan Alexander [email protected] The Hub@New Brunswick ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Kirsten Rasky [email protected] Damon Riccio [email protected] Ridin’ the rails with Russo Development ............................................................................................................... 10 John Bodnar [email protected] Tim Drasher [email protected] Baldwin Place in Jersey City ..............................................................................................................................................................11 EDITORIAL EDITOR JMF Properties visits Plainfield, Denfield and Montclair ......................................................... 12 Howard Burns [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR Carl DiOrio [email protected] WEB EDITOR/SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Jessica Perry [email protected] STAFF WRITERS Vince Calio [email protected] Health Care/Banking & Finance Gabrielle Saulsbery [email protected] Law/Food & Hospitality/Small Business David Hutter [email protected] Education/Transportation/Manufacturing Elana Knopp [email protected] Real Estate Daniel J. Munoz [email protected] Government/Economic Development CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Aaron Houston [email protected] RESEARCHER Bethany Wiegand [email protected] EVENTS EVENTS DIRECTOR Wendy Berg [email protected] EVENTS COORDINATOR Anna Acquaviva [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS (866) 288-7699 REPRINTS For licensing, reprints, e-prints and plaques, email Lisa Arnold at [email protected] or call her direct line at 717-323-5213. Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright For photos, please see njbiz.com/photos RE2 Summer 2018 NJBIZ www.njbiz.com REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION REPORT LETTER TO READERS Developers love to ride the rails Instead of a satchel of clothes lazily slung over a shoulder, these ir- repressible wayfarers travel the state’s transit corridors bearing project blueprints and building codebooks in search of the next prime parcel for mixed-use projects big and small. In this issue of our Real Estate & Construction Report supplement, we detail several projects strategically placed near NJ Transit and Am- trak stations in towns such as Aberdeen, New Brunswick, Jersey City and elsewhere. Developers are attracted to sites near transit stops because the commuters, shoppers and others passing through the turnstiles repre- sent potential tenants and customers for the homes, shops and offices they build in projects clustered nearby. So hop aboard our latest Report for an illuminating tour of the personalities and projects to be found Along the Rails of New Jersey. No ticket required. Carl DiOrio Managing Editor NJBIZ www.njbiz.com NJBIZ Summer 2018 RE3 REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION REPORT The Link at Aberdeen Station sits just a few steps from a commuter rail line in the heart of a growing Monmouth County community. From left, Jonathan Schwartz, principal, BNE Real Estate Group, and Aberdeen Mayor Fred Tagliarini in front of The Link at at Aberdeen Station. The Link at Aberdeen Station. - Photos by Aaron Houston Central Jersey transit stop Active Aberdeen: sees development aplenty BY MARTIN DAKS he story behind The Link at Aberdeen Station — a five-building, upscale mixed-use devel- opment of 225 units nestled up against New Jersey Transit’s Aberdeen-Matawan station — Ttells a lot about the direction of residential development in the Garden State. It’s a gated community full of amenities, including stainless steel appliances in each unit, a commercial-grade fitness center, a conference room and other goodies. But as any Realtor will tell you, location is the No. 1 issue when it comes to residence appeal. And in this case, the develop- ment’s proximity to a train station — just steps away — clinches the deal. “During the last five or six years we’ve been doing a lot more transit-oriented projects,” said Jonathan Schwartz, a partner at developer BNE Real Estate Group. “A lot of the demand is being driven by 25- to 35-year-old singles and couples – though there’s also interest from empty-nesters, too — who work in Manhattan or Newark but don’t want to pay Manhattan, Newark or Jersey City RE4 Summer 2018 NJBIZ www.njbiz.com REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION REPORT rents. Living next to the station here [on mean more work for a builder, however, ment of soundproofing. These and other projects often have the North Coast Line] lets them roll out since a location that’s right up against a Another concern is getting approved unique design and other characteristics, of bed, jump onto the train and enjoy a train station can make sound an issue. for a PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, like offering upscale amenities that ap- quick commute. It’s a value proposition Schwartz said special materials can han- program. Otherwise, the cost of acquiring, peal to their target markets, but in addi- that gives residents similar amenities and dle that, including “windows with a high remediating and developing land near a tion to being near mass transit they gen- convenience, but for less rent.” STC rating,” referring to Sound Transmis- station might be too high. erally share another trait: a location in the Convenience for tenants can also sion Class, an industry-standard measure- The first phase of The Link at Aber- northern or central part of the state. That deen Station opened up in March and was doesn’t surprise Michael McGuinness, 75% leased by May, said Schwartz, who’s CEO of real estate development associa- Municipal cooperation always helps been with BNE for more than a decade. tion NAIOP New Jersey, which advocates The willingness of many people to work Developers are attracted by the demand for His other developments have included on behalf of the mixed-use, commercial, together was a big reason why The Link at these kinds of projects, according to Tagliarini. Warren at York, an 11-story building he industrial and other real estate sectors. Aberdeen Station worked out, according to “Aberdeen in particular was desirable because put up in Jersey City’s Paulus Hook neigh- “Based on the population density, Aberdeen Mayor Fred Tagliarini. the station here is one of the most heavily borhood in 2014 that boasts a short walk there are simply more people in north- “The initial plans for this site go back more traveled on the North Coast Line,” he said. to PATH, the NY Waterway ferry and a See ABERDEEN on page 6 than a decade, since the town wanted to do “For the new residents, a development like The light rail station. Less than a month after something about what was, essentially, an Links offers convenience – roll out of bed in its opening, more than 90 percent of the almost 20-acre eyesore filled with old ware- the morning, take a leisurely stroll to the train 139 apartments were leased out, he said. houses and other unused space,” Tagliarini said. station and you’re on your way. Then in the eve- Current BNE projects include River “I inherited the project from my predecessor, ning, you don’t face a lengthy second commute Park and Waters Edge, both in Harrison. Mayor David Sobel; and we worked closely with to your home.” “They’re all part of a redevelopment the state, NJ Transit, then-State Sen Joe Kyril- Besides The Link, other developers are putting area, and are PATH centric,” Schwartz said. los, then-Governor Christie and others. A lot of up new multifamily housing in Aberdeen, drawn “Unlike The Link at Aberdeen — which people got involved and it got done.” by the town’s central location off the Garden has 7,000 square feet of retail, including Tagliarini also credits the town’s Economic State Parkway and its easy access to rail. The Brooklyn Bagel and Frutta Bowls —these Business Council. target market for these transit-oriented devel- Harrison developments don’t have a retail opments tends to be singles, young couples and “We worked closely with the business council, component. The Harrison real estate mar- too, since new residents means more potential empty nesters. ket s focused on PATH accessibility, and customers for local companies, in addition “We considered the issue of density, but we be- there’s a lot of retail nearby.” to boosting the town’s ratables,” he said. lieve