We’re always eager to highlight those towns that have taken a proactive, thoughtful approach to local land use, especially those that are lesser known. One such example is Dunellen, a borough in northwest Middlesex County that is by no means remote but perhaps overlooked due to its size and proximity to larger municipalities like Piscataway. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, the 1.1-square-mile community is benefiting from a flurry of activity in recent years, including the completion of three projects with a combined 450 housing units and new retail space as part of a coordinated plan to revitalize its downtown. That effort is more than two decades in the making, meaning officials there are eager to continue that momentum with the balanced but collaborative strategy that has attracted new investment and outside recognition.
“Dunellen is open for business, and we invite everyone to experience the energy and excitement of our revitalized downtown,” Mayor Jason Cilento said in early November, as he announced that the borough had won the esteemed “Great Downtown” designation by the American Planning Association’s New Jersey Chapter. “This is just the beginning, and we are excited to see what the future holds as we strive to make downtown Dunellen an even more inclusive, sustainable and thriving place for all.”
Our January issue also includes a timely Q&A with developer David Greek, the inaugural chair of the new industry coalition known as Circulate NJ. We spoke to the Greek Real Estate Partners executive in late November, soon after the organization launched with what figures to be an important mission for our readers — promoting the vast economic benefits of New Jersey’s logistics sector and defusing the increasingly hostile, often misleading rhetoric that has derailed many warehouse projects in the state. Importantly, the alliance of some three dozen members includes not just prominent developers but stakeholders ranging from dock workers and truckers to the likes of Amazon. That diversity is critical, Greek said, giving the group added credibility and multiple ways to reach New Jersey residents and consumers.
“I think one of the benefits of having such a broad member base within so many industries is that our members are really our primary communicators on this,” Greek said, noting that tenants, trades and developers “each have our own touchpoints within different communities that we believe will help spread this message pretty far and wide pretty quickly.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be January without our annual Market Forecast section. We’re thrilled to once again have a top group of owners, builders and service providers as participants, who offered varying levels of optimism about the year ahead for an industry that is balancing strong fundamentals with some headwinds, including lingering uncertainty about when lower interest rates will truly impact real estate. Thanks to our participants for helping us kick off another year, which should have no shortage of important New Jersey commercial real estate news. We’ll be there to cover it all. Until then, thanks for reading, enjoy the issue and best of luck in 2025!
Joshua Burd
Editor