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old firm in recent years has diversified beyond Connecticut to the rest of
Patrick Carino
the New York metropolitan area, with
a focus on building midrise luxury rental buildings with 100 to 200 units. Union Township had designated
the factory site as an area in need of redevelopment, and it was zoned for apartments, Carino said.
The project is part of a wave of apartment construction in Union Township, as builders bet on demand for homes near the township’s transportation networks, including an NJ Transit commuter train station and the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 78.
Although this is RMS’ first venture into New Jersey, Carino said it’s not that different from Fairfield County in Connecticut.
“We’ve always been a suburban developer, so that strategy has worked for us,” he said. The Union Township apartments have drawn interest during the pandemic, as many tenants left New York City and other densely populated areas. The complex offers outdoor space, including a courtyard with a pool. “We’re marketing it as an urban oasis,” Carino said.
Because the process went smoothly in Union Township, RMS is looking for other opportunities in northern New Jersey, believing there will be continued demand for luxury rentals among millennials, empty-nesters and others who don’t want the responsibilities of homeownership, Carino said.
Whitmer said that, in general, many developers prefer to stay in their own states, in part because they
have reputations and relationships there. They know the local engineers, architects and land use lawyers. And once they’ve done a few successful projects, the developers get a reputation in the area, which can make for easier approvals.
“If you have no history [in another state] that’s definitely a higher hurdle,” he said.
When out-of-state companies venture into New Jersey, municipalities’ attitudes toward development can
Stamford, Connecticut-based RMS Cos. is set to begin leasing at its first New Jersey project, a 153-unit apartment complex at 1255 Magie Ave. in Union Township.
make all the difference, Whitmer said. In many towns, he said, “it’s a struggle to get approval for redevelopment.”
“But some towns have gotten very good at flying the flag that says, ‘We’re open for business,’ ” he said. An out- of-state company working in such a town “can be very successful.”
Still, it’s important to recognize that developments that are right for one place may be all wrong for another, said Jon Cortell of Larchmont,
New York-based L+M Development Partners Inc.
“We may never be a local (New Jersey) developer, but we are very comfortable with the idea that
projects “where the community wants to have a hand in it, and wants their government to be actively involved.” That was also true with perhaps its highest-profile project in the state, the redevelopment of the former Hahne’s department store, a Newark landmark.
Additionally, L+M has been chosen as the conditional redeveloper, in partnership with Toll Brothers, for the mixed-use Broad Street West project in Summit. And it recently
announced a collaboration with University Hospital in Newark to build 78 affordable apartments under a New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency program that links hospitals with residential developers to provide affordable and supportive housing.
“I’m only interested in those deals that matter,” Cortell said, “and if it matters, it’s going to involve the government.” RE
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Jon Cortell
development
is local,” said Cortell, an
L+M partner and managing director of Northeast markets. “Our road has been a road of learning
that communities want development, but they would like development that is reflective of their community.”
The firm, which is most active in the five boroughs of New York
City, has kept that in mind since it began its New Jersey first project in 2012. The development yielded
a two-building, 72-unit apartment complex at 50 and 55 South Essex St., bringing affordable housing and a craft brewery to the former site of an abandoned warehouse and coal storage facility.
Cortell said it’s an example of how New Jersey municipal officials
have welcomed mixed-income housing and creative approaches to redevelopment, noting that L+M likes
Courtesy: RMS Cos.