Lou Reynolds is CEO of Reynolds Asset Management, which is spearheading the redevelopment of the Princeton Pike Office Park in Lawrence Township. — Photo by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ
By Marlaina Cockcroft
The planned redevelopment of Princeton Pike Office Park in Lawrence Township will feature the mixed-use elements that are increasingly popular in New Jersey. But, departing from the trend, it will keep half its office space.
Three buildings at 3131 Princeton Pike, now known as CANVAS, will be demolished starting this fall or in early 2025, making way for 204 apartments and 17,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. That will reduce the office space at the park by nearly 40 percent, to about 167,000 square feet, leaving three buildings that are now thriving and nearly fully leased after a recent makeover.
“Not all office parks can accommodate this sort of revitalization,” said Lou Reynolds, founder and CEO of Reynolds Asset Management, which owns the site. Sometimes “you end up with this weird sort of office park that has an apartment community shoved in the middle — it doesn’t feel residential. This property in particular laid out well.”
Well enough, in fact, that tenants of the to-be-demolished buildings have switched into the remaining buildings and even expanded their space at the campus, which is just south of Interstate 295 and six miles from downtown Princeton.
Reynolds said CANVAS evolved out of the layout and condition of the property as well as feedback from local officials. That followed his firm’s acquisition of the office park in 2022 alongside Capital Solutions Inc., “primarily because it was distressed and we thought we had a better plan for the property.”
He said two buildings along Princeton Pike “needed to go. They no longer met ADA compliance” and were only 25 percent occupied. A third structure, a vacant company headquarters, wasn’t worth the cost of subdividing for smaller tenants.
The half-full back three buildings, though, were “ideal for renovation.” Reynolds Asset Management leaned into their midcentury modern look, amplifying elements like a center open staircase, covering exposed brick, installing larger artwork and adding LED lights.
Then the Paramus-based firm offered existing tenants “amazing terms if they were willing to relocate,” Reynolds said. “Some of them were actually looking to leave our property right up until that moment that we approached them with an offer.”
Reynolds noted that much of the new occupancy has been expansion from existing tenants, largely medical users. Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, for instance, and Benecard Services doubled their space. Others that renewed leases include Reproductive Science Center, New Jersey Neck and Back Institute, Mercer Children’s Dentistry and New Jersey Infrastructure Bank.
“I think the ability to repurpose and reinvent an asset was what really was interesting to take on the assignment, and right from the get-go Reynolds showed the initiative to be flexible” and worked to make sure they got the best outcome, said Robert Loderstedt, a senior managing director with Newmark in East Brunswick, which is handling office and medical leasing for CANVAS. He said the three buildings are over 90 percent occupied, with several tenants signing longer leases.
Loderstedt said Reynolds offers good customer service, “and that’s really important in retaining your tenants in today’s environment. Plus they did a tremendous job on the renovation.”
The other piece of the planning was working with the town, which approved the redevelopment late last year. Reynolds said his team had conversations with the township council over 18 months about how to improve the property. Officials asked for retail and for a structure that wasn’t visually imposing from the street.
The solution was two new buildings along Princeton Pike connected across the top by a covered promenade, with first-floor retail and apartments above. Restaurants with outdoor seating will sit in the middle. Reynolds said his team has spoken to retailers and restaurants, but nothing has been signed yet.
CANVAS, which has Collingswood-based Thriven Design as its architect, is also expected to include a clubhouse, coworking space, a fitness center, electric vehicle charging stations and other amenities.
“There was a lot of compromise,” Reynolds said. “I think we struck a really nice balance between what the town wants and something that’s economically viable.”
Officials have also vocalized their support as the plan has come together.
“This redevelopment project meets the very essence and purpose of the NJ Local Redevelopment and Housing Law,” said Kevin Nerwinski, Lawrence Township manager, in a December statement. “The project will eliminate old, underperforming and unoccupied office buildings and replace them with new and beautiful residential rental opportunities meeting critical housing needs for those seeking to stay or become a new member of the community.
“The commercial use portion of the project will bring a retail element to an area of our community that is presently nonexistent. It expands our business community and enhances the options for those who live and work here. It is a win-win for Lawrence Township in the most classic sense.”
According to Reynolds, demolition and site work will begin between November and February 2025 and the project will take about 18 months to finish.
As for the shopping and dining space, Loederstedt said there aren’t many amenities in the area now and he thinks tenants and customers are “starving for new development, especially the retail aspect.”
Reynolds, meantime, said the apartments will be one- to three-bedroom units with 15 percent affordable housing.
“I think we’re going to attract a lot of empty-nesters, people that are in a big home now and don’t need all that space … and a lot of fresh-out-of-college, first job sort of students.” He’s planning to install an artist’s canvas in the center of the lobby and project artwork throughout the property: “Lifestyle with an art infrastructure, if you will.”
Reynolds, an art collector, draws on that passion with his properties. For instance, the Mural in Orange features a large mural in the lobby and photographs of how the property looked before its reinvention.
He said the firm has been looking for office parks to create projects like CANVAS.
“I personally believe this is how office will look in the future.”
Marlaina Cockcroft is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.
