Aster Grove at 100 Spirea Way in Warren — Courtesy: Canoe Brook Development
By Joshua Burd
Canoe Brook Development has unveiled a collection of 220 luxury apartments in Warren, delivering the township’s first large-scale rental property to a site just off Interstate 78.
The firm joined local officials and its leasing team last week to mark the opening of Aster Grove, following a roughly $80 million project that is more than five years in the making. It did so having already filled about 75 percent of the community at 100 Spirea Way, where it’s marketing a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and upscale amenity spaces.
That bodes well for a project that is not only the first of its kind in Warren, as the developer noted, but one that will help the town satisfy its affordable housing obligations under state law.
“My job here is to thank everybody for all the effort, work and focus that you’ve put into making Aster Grove the beautiful community it’s turned out to be,” said Carl Goldberg, a founder and principal of Roseland-based Canoe Brook Development. “And we’re very, very appreciative of everybody who’s had input, but most of all, we’re really pleased with the relationship that we’ve cultivated with the Township of Warren.”
SLIDESHOW: Aster Grove in Warren
Courtesy: Canoe Brook Development/RHO Residential
That includes Mayor Lisa Lontai, Administrator Mark Krane and many others, he said.
“We had a really wonderful public-private partnership with the Township of Warren working through all the issues necessary to get a building like this built and to hopefully fulfill an important housing need for the municipality,” Goldberg added.
Located at the junction of I-78 and King George Road, the complex includes two four-story buildings that surround a precast parking deck. It’s also part of a multiphase development site that includes 115 for-sale townhomes by PulteGroup on a neighboring site, but Lontai said the infusion of new rentals at Aster Grove has appealed to everyone from empty-nesters and young families to workers at the 820,000-square-foot Warren Corporate Center across the street.
“I want to congratulate everyone on this project,” Lontai said. “It’s simply amazing. And whenever we go to the residents and tell them that we’re going to have a new building in town, it’s always a concern. Everybody wants to maintain the rural quality of our town. But I have to say that you’ve done this remarkably well. You’ve met the aesthetic of Warren, and you’ve done it in such a way that it just fits seamlessly into our community.”
RHO Residential leads the leasing and property management team for Aster Grove, which has amenities such as an outdoor pool with cabanas, a coworking lounge with private offices, a resident lounge, a fitness center and a multisport simulator, among others. The Manocherian family is an equity partner in the project, which was spearheaded by Canoe Brook’s Jack Tycher, Jay McDermott and Devra Goldberg, working alongside Lessard Design, Gladstone Design Inc., Linda Tycher & Associates and EcolSciences Inc., with Sweetwater Construction serving as the general contractor and Keith Davis of Nehmad Davis & Goldstein PC serving as land use counsel.
“The momentum at Aster Grove has been incredible — reaching 82 percent leased is a strong indicator of just how much demand there is for luxury rental living in Warren,” said Brenda Cioce, president of RHO Residential. “We’re proud to offer spacious one-, two- and three-bedroom residences in a community that blends modern convenience with small-town charm. Aster Grove is not only meeting the needs of today’s renters but helping shape a new rental market in Warren, and we couldn’t be more excited about its success.”
The milestone has set the stage for a project on an adjacent parcel, where Canoe Brook is in predevelopment for a potential senior housing community. In the meantime, Goldberg said the strong response from renters shows that “people love the opportunity to be part of Warren Township,” calling it “a great community with a wonderful reputation and a great school system.”
“I think it’s the right kind of community, and I think it speaks volumes about the lifestyle opportunities to live in a place like Aster Grove when you see the amenity packages,” he said. “I hope that, by the quality of the relationship we’ve cultivated with Warren, they see that this is an important part of their housing element, and as such will be looking positively on other projects.”
