Last month I alluded to how quickly things can change during a situation such as a pandemic, especially one that has so dramatically impacted our economy. That is certainly still the case in New Jersey, but the good news is that (as of now), things may be changing for the better.
Editor’s Note
Hear directly from Editor Joshua Burd as he brings you the highlights of this month’s issue of Real Estate NJ and his observations from recent interviews.
Moving forward in a time of uncertainty
Our world here in New Jersey has changed over the past two weeks and, for many of us, most dramatically over the past few days alone. We’re only just beginning to learn what it will be like to do our jobs and conduct business in the era of social distancing, and what this all means for the state’s commercial real estate sector will start to become clearer in the months ahead.
One to watch
We learned last September that a developer has proposed building a 135,000-square-foot studio complex in Jersey City, with the very purpose of capturing the production companies that it says are coming here because of the film tax credit incentive. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, other developers and property owners are making a similar bet, amid surging demand from the film and television industry.
On the horizon
As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, developers are preparing to add millions of square feet of new space to New Jersey’s exceedingly tight industrial market. Yet experts say demand will continue to outpace supply as those projects come online in 2020 and 2021, thanks to the continued upside of e-commerce and the chronic lack of developable land in the state.
Long overdue
In our July issue, we detail the efforts of New Jersey’s largest brokerage and service firms to support diversity and inclusion among their employees. This is nothing new for industry giants like CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield, but it’s become increasingly clear that these efforts are critical to recruitment, retention and overall employee culture. It’s why you’ll find these firms taking pains to promote and cultivate networking groups tied to gender, racial, lifestyle and other forms of diversity. That only stands to grow in our own local market and globally.
Taking cues
Newark’s dedicated blue-chip employers and anchor institutions have virtually all expanded or made commitments to grow, leading to billions of dollars’ worth of new commercial development. It’s a major reason why developers believe the time is right to, once and for all, bring new market-rate apartments to Newark’s central business district.
Good vibes
As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, local leaders in Red Bank are increasingly open to the idea of redevelopment and smart growth in their community. The 2.2-square-mile borough has long held the cachet of towns such as Montclair and Morristown, but new mixed-use projects have been few and far between.
Breaking through
As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, Stanbery Development Co. has spent more than four years navigating local politics and state regulations in its quest to redevelop a vacant office complex in Parsippany. But the firm is now on a path toward fulfilling its vision, which calls for a mixed-use, downtown-style development anchored by high-end restaurants and retail.
