Page 20 - RE-NJ

18 JANUARY 2026
From left: Real Estate NJ’s Josh Burd moderated the Local Land Use panel at the publication’s Dec. 9 event, The State of
Redevelopment: Multifamily and Mixed-Use, at The Highlawn in West Orange. Speakers included John Inglesino of Inglesino Taylor
LLC, Chris Erb of Russo Development, Jason Chmura of KSS Architects, Stephen Santola of Woodmont Properties, Stephen Hoyt of
Pennoni and Joseph DeMarco of Scarinci Hollenbeck LLC.
to be a challenge because kitchens,
laundry rooms and bathrooms
are part and parcel of residential
buildings and not typical of most
offi ce buildings.
to have to fi nd some other uses for
some of these vacant offi ce buildings
out there.”
Mixed-use developments also would
improve traffi c fl ow since residential
is more diverse with less peak infl ow
and outfl ow. That would create
ADVANTAGES: DECREASED
a chokehold of some local roads
TRAFFIC, STORMWATER
“Once you tally those up, it’s
INFRASTRUCTURE
when offi ces used to operate at
peak capacity, according to Erb and
an incredible cost to retrofi t a
Parking is a big opportunity in
Woodmont’s Santola, who said they
commercial building for that,” said
suburban offi ce landscapes, where
view that as a selling point to towns
Chmura, a partner with New York-
thousands of spots were built and
considering a redevelopment.
based KSS. “I think we’re going to
no longer being used or would be
see different types of uses for the
needed for residential or mixed-used
offi ce parks, but we’re also going to
conversions, according to Erb.
see people stretching it and pushing
more towards real, more impactful
retrofi ts.”
Chmura also predicted more partial
retrofi ts ahead, such as carving out
atriums or removing entire sections
while retaining structural shells.
“You’ve got seas of asphalt that
can be redeveloped with additional
uses,” he added, alluding to parallels
between suburban offi ces and
fl agging malls.
Existing stormwater infrastructure
at offi ce parks also makes projects
easier to build, even with upgrades
and improvements that need to be
made, according to Stephen Hoyt,
associate vice president and director
with Pennoni.
Despite multifamily developments
potentially slowing down, panelists
said there is still broad opportunity
in the suburban offi ce landscape. As
noted by Chris Erb, executive vice
president of development for Russo
Development, conversions could
support other asset classes as needs
arise.
“I’d say we’re probably a little
earlier in the game,” Erb said. “New
Jersey has a ton of suburban offi ce
… There are going to be plenty of
opportunities to retrofi t empty offi ce
buildings across the state. And if
that means that residential isn’t
the catalyst for that anymore or is
catalyzing it a little bit less moving
forward, it means that we’re going
ALTERNATIVE USES: PUBLIC SPACE AND
LARGE GROUND-FLOOR TENANTS
Not all former offi ces are only
best used as residential buildings.
“It’s whatever uses can work,”
Russo Development’s Erb said,
adding that uses can be individual
to every project and may include
life sciences adjacent to retail,
offi ce or even hotel space.
In New York, for example, where
KSS has several projects, grocery
stores are located at the ground
level of some residential building
developments, Chmura said.
Those types of long-term lease
situations with larger tenants
and perhaps institutions such
as colleges can be good bets for
developers.
“Scale of that mixed use is really
important,” Chmura said. “Back
in the day, the smaller retail
establishments at the base of
the project worked, but I know
from a property management
standpoint, that’s a bear. Nobody
wants to have to deal with those
1,000-square-foot tenants on
“The fact that the infrastructure is
there gets you from point A to point
B,” said Hoyt, who leads the fi rm’s
Newark and East Hanover offi ces.
“And it helps on the pro forma side
of things to be starting from that
template and then building it out.”
From a utility standpoint, he added,
“the services are there, so it’s a
lot easier to coordinate with these
providers and it’s a good infi ll
situation to build around what’s
there.”
FOR-SALE TOWNHOUSES
SUPPORT
John Inglesino, managing and
founding partner for the law fi rm
Inglesino Taylor LLC, described
how he sees the market preference
shifting from large multifamily
rental complexes toward for-sale
townhouse developments, especially
in offi ce parks that are big enough to
support them.
“Clearly the trend is to convert
vacant offi ce to residential,”
Inglesino said.
However, he said municipalities are
increasingly resisting dense rental
proposals, especially when they
have larger offi ce properties.
“People don’t like the density, they
don’t like the traffi c,” said Inglesino,
a former Rockaway Township mayor
and Morris County Freeholder,
adding: “We are seeing political will
for upscale for-sale townhouse jobs.
That’s where I think the sweet spot
is today.”
Panelists also pointed to new
incentives built into the revised Fair
Housing Act for redeveloping offi ce
a regular basis. So (it’s about)
fi nding something that could be an
anchor tenant.”
Incorporating public space into a
project also seems to be a winning
strategy that the towns are more
likely to accept in redevelopment
projects, Santola said.
“The other thing I would throw
into it is that, with any mixed-
use job of any size — public
space, public space, public
space,” Santola added. “That’s
what we’re hearing from all the
municipalities. It’s also a great
complement to a residential use, if
it’s done right and it’s done well.”