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EDITOR’S NOTE
INTO THE FUTURE
It may not seem possible to own
185 acres of prime real estate along Interstate 78 — just over 20 miles from
Manhattan
— but still keep a low profile. Yet the Connell family has managed to do exactly that, relatively speaking, more than 30 years
after it began to develop its Connell Corporate Park in Berkeley Heights.
That’s likely to change in the coming years. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, Connell Real Estate & Development Co. is in the midst of an ambitious, $400 million improvement and expansion of the suburban
office park, one that will create new apartments, restaurants, entertainment and upscale park spaces by 2023. Those additions are coming
alongside a substantial investment in modernizing the campus’ five office buildings, which total some 1.5 million square feet, as Connell looks to reimagine the property for the future.
You wouldn’t be wrong to ask how the firm hopes to differentiate itself from other developers seeking to reinvent a New Jersey office park. But Shane Connell, the firm’s executive vice
focus on hospitality that it will provide to office workers, future residents and visitors alike.
Elsewhere in this issue, we highlight PRC Group’s plan to revive the site of an iconic former rug mill complex in Hightstown. The property is rich with more than a century of history, but
has become notorious in recent years for attracting ill-timed or ill-conceived plans by developers. PRC is now poised to break that cycle, with plans that include both ground-up construction
and an adaptive reuse of two large industrial buildings. The project, which calls for a mix of 386 luxury apartments and townhomes just steps from the downtown, is now moving ahead with support from key local officials.
Our November issue also includes
a feature on Rotwein+Blake, the Livingston-based architecture and interiors firm, which is marking its 65th anniversary. Like other businesses, the practice is navigating the pandemic, but is benefiting from its recent efforts to diversify beyond the office and industrial sectors. The 20-employee firm now boasts a growing practice in multifamily and mixed-use projects, which now account for more than two- thirds of its pipeline, as it continues to
REALESTATENJTM 3 work for many of New Jersey’s most
prominent developers.
You can find those stories and more in our latest edition, as we look
to the holidays and the promise
of a new year. I’m happy to report that much of the market remains active from our standpoint, which is reassuring in light of all that has taken place. Here’s hoping to the industry’s continued perseverance and a strong finish to 2020.
Until then, thank you for reading and for your continued support. Enjoy the issue!
Joshua Burd
Editor
josh@re-nj.com
al
Our November issue
so includes a featur
on Rotwein+Blake,
interiors firm, which
e
the Livingston-based architecture and
is marking its 65th anniversary.
president, has a plan for that. As he tells us, the revamped office space and the new mixed-use development will be supported by a campus-wide, in-house team that will provide everything from meal planning and personal training to events and social programming, with a