Plans for The Connell Co.’s new 60,000-square-foot entertainment building at The Park in Berkeley Heights include a brewery, multiple restaurants and duckpin bowling lanes. — Renderings by Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners/Courtesy: Connell
By Joshua Burd
The Connell Co. has started construction on a 60,000-square-foot entertainment building that will serve as a focal point of its redeveloped business campus in Berkeley Heights.
The project — which will house a brewery, multiple restaurants and duckpin bowling lanes — will be among the newest additions to the 185-acre property just south of Interstate 78, the developer said this week. It will also be the core of a new 60-acre shopping, dining and entertainment district anchored by a walkable main street, which Connell sees as a destination for both residents and workers within the property’s 1.5 million square feet of office space.
Completion is slated for 2026.
“The District at The Park is at the center of our redevelopment project,” said Shane Connell, executive vice president at The Connell Co. “Because of this, we wanted to create beautifully designed spaces with concepts that complement each other and encourage people to visit. We are extremely excited about beginning construction on the entertainment building and can’t wait until the public can enjoy each of the concepts coming to The Park.”
SLIDESHOW: Entertainment, dining at The Park
The firm noted that the construction is part of a $500 million plan to reposition The Park from a traditional office complex into a new full-service, destination neighborhood, a project for which Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners serves as the architect of record. Its plans have also included repositioning much of the existing commercial space as well as the addition of more than 300 apartments.
Operators at the new entertainment building will include:
- Emberside Brewery, a destination for on-site crafted beers
- Rosa Azul, a Mexican restaurant with authentic cuisine and hand-crafted cocktails, as well as a taqueria that will offer window service for the outdoor garden and playground area
- A speakeasy-style venue called BASH, featuring a wood-fired steakhouse, event spaces and multiple bars
- 16 of New Jersey’s first duckpin bowling lanes
Connell added that the building will be adjacent to a custom playground and feature a sleek seating area that transforms from indoor to outdoor space through signature guillotine glass doors designed by Seatle-based Olson Kundig.
“We are working tirelessly to deliver the highest quality spaces, services and experiences to everyone who steps foot in The Park,” said Stephen Kilroy, Connell’s senior vice president of hospitality and marketing. “Working with David M. Sullivan Design firm out of New York City, this new building is designed with the purpose of creating a unified, hospitality-driven experience, for everyone who comes to The Park to live, work, stay or play. We are thrilled to begin sharing what is to come with the surrounding communities and look forward to sharing more in the near future.”
The milestone follows the recent debut of Round Table Workspaces, a rebrand of The Park’s office spaces with collaborative lounges, workstations and meeting rooms, as well as high-quality bars and cafes. It also features game rooms and access to Fieldhouse, the campus’ fitness center, as well as to Table & Banter’s hospitality team, which provides homemade and seasonal food, social activities and catering and event services for all tenants.
Long known as Connell Corporate Park, the campus is home to companies such as L’Oreal, Fiserv and HP, as well as a 176-room Embassy Suites hotel, Grain & Cane Restaurant, Starbucks, Lifetime Fitness, outdoor walking and jogging trails and coworking social club Round Table Studios.
Connell details plans for new residential, retail phases at landmark Berkeley Heights campus
