Page 20 - RENJ Sept.21

18 SEPTEMBER 2021
BUILDING A BRAND
Shane Connell is quick to note that Round Table Studios is about more than a single space at 200 Connell Drive. Rather,
The Connell Co. has set out to create a lifestyle brand unto itself, going so far as to launch a new upscale furniture line that is now on display at the co-working and social club and elsewhere on its flagship campus in Berkeley Heights.
Designed by David M. Sullivan, the custom-made line known as RTS Collective by DMS could also soon be available to other real estate owners.
“If you look at all the studies, whether it’s architects or designers or landlords, they’re all talking about delivering a hospitality approach to the work environment,” Connell said. “And it’s not just service, it’s also the look and feel. Everyone is trying to do it, but we see the product that people are delivering — they’re saying the right thing, but
they’re not delivering the right thing. So we think there’s a real opportunity to say ‘You know the answer, let us help you solve the problem.’ The furniture line is a part of that solution.”
Sullivan, an acclaimed New York-based designer, is also spearheading Connell’s transformation of the 185-acre campus known as The Park. It will be no surprise, then, to see the Round Table Studios brand infused throughout the property, including a planned 328-unit apartment building that will be known as The RT.
Connell noted that the furniture line will ultimately be available to owners of co-working spaces, office buildings, hotel and multifamily lobbies and amenity spaces and restaurants and bars.
“This furniture line is an extension of all those uses, and any landlord or developer who wants to have this lifestyle brand can use it,” Connell said.
Round Table Studios provides flexible seating options for members and spaces such as a library, a training room and others that can be rented on an hourly basis by other tenants at The Park.
also allows for consultations with The Park’s on-site nutritionist and unlimited use of the Fieldhouse, plus access to personal trainers and strength, yoga and Pilates classes.
Members will find themselves in
the midst of Connell’s ongoing, $400 million makeover of The Park, which sits just south of Interstate 78 about 30 miles from Manhattan, as it seeks to bring new uses to the existing hotel and 1.5 million square feet of office space. In March, local officials approved the rezoning
of the property, paving the way
for Connell to start construction next year on a pedestrian-focused, urban-style development called The District that will include more than 300 apartments and offerings such as duckpin bowling, a Southern California-style taco stand and
a brewery and beer garden with rooftop event space.
Connell’s plans also call for modernizing The Park’s four other office buildings, having done so
at 200 Connell Drive with the introduction of the Fieldhouse, the
health clinic and a revamped dining area.
“When you look the Googles, the Amazons and the Apples of the world, they’re all building these types of campuses,” Connell said. “So we see this as a campus that’s comparable to a collegiate campus and that of a West Coast tech firm, but it’s for (multiple) tenants. The Googles of the world do it for just their employees. We’re doing it for everyone.”
In the meantime, the firm is preparing to welcome its traditional office tenants back to the campus, where the daily overall population is
about 20 percent of what it was pre-pandemic. Connell expects that number to grow in September and October, which will only be helped by the arrival of Round Table Studios.
“Now whether you’re a member here as an individual or a flexible member in the studios, or a large company, you can attract the talent because we’re going to give you the culture and the amenities that you want,” he said.
Already, Connell said several of The Park’s existing larger tenants have expressed interest in gaining access to the co-working and social club. And they now have the option of renting several spaces inside RTS — including the library, training room and a second-floor “pitch room” with high-end videoconferencing and stadium-style seating — on an hourly basis with catering.
“We’ve tried to hit all the categories of that demand ... so it’s another amenity that they can come in and
rent that room instead of having to invest in their
own when they
only use it once
a month,” said
Steve Kilroy,
Connell’s senior
vice president of
hospitality and
marketing. “So
they don’t need
it in their own space. They can use it with our space and then we can cater their lunches or their meetings.” RE
Steve Kilroy
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