A rendering of a proposed retail space at Prism Capital Partners’ ON3 campus — Courtesy: Prism
By Joshua Burd
Prism Capital Partners has secured another key entitlement for its ON3 campus, allowing it to bring uses such as restaurants and small shops to the Clifton portion of the property.
The developer said the zoning, which local officials approved recently, allows for limited retail uses at the 116-acre redevelopment project. It represents another important step toward repurposing the former Hoffmann-LaRoche research campus, which straddles Clifton and Nutley, into a walkable, mixed-used destination.
“Clifton’s decision allows us to move forward with a redevelopment plan that provides critical complementary uses to support the office, R&D and academic tenants at ON3,” said Prism’s Eugene Diaz, a principal partner with the firm. “Redevelopment is supposed to assess market opportunities, and then plan and develop uses to enhance and revitalize an area. Clifton city officials continue to demonstrate that they understand this, and we applaud them for doing what is necessary to help attract best-in-class organizations and provide them with an unparalleled campus experience.”
Prism said the approval paves the way for uses such as restaurants, small shops, a neighborhood market and other services aimed at supporting existing ON3 businesses, their employees and area residents. And it comes just weeks after Clifton officials granted final site plan approval for a 266-room, dual-brand Marriott AC/Element Hotel near the campus’ main entrance at Route 3, marking its first hospitality project.
The developer acquired the sprawling redevelopment site in fall 2016, in a deal that came roughly three years after Roche announced it would cease operations there. It has since focused on bringing new users to the property with new ground-up development and with leases that have helped backfill its existing office and life sciences space.
The deals have involved users such as Eisai Inc., Quest Diagnostics, Ralph Lauren Corp., Modern Meadow, Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc. and Seton Hall University’s Graduate College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences. Prism, which is based at ON3, expects that more than 5,500 people will be employed on the campus by the end of this year, while the ongoing redevelopment also is creating hundreds of construction jobs.
ON3 is also home to the Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine, which has preleased a planned 80,000-square-foot medical office building at the site, as well as the health system’s Center for Discovery and Innovation. The hotel, which will be located along Metro Boulevard, will benefit from the property’s existing campus infrastructure, including its central utility plant with a 10-meagwatt cogeneration facility.
