Page 10 - RE-NJ

8 JANUARY 2023
DEVELOPERS LAUNCH $500 MILLION
REDEVELOPMENT IN EAST ORANGE
anchor tenant to continue the grocer’s longtime presence at the former Brick Church Plaza, with plans also calling for a pedestrian promenade and a public plaza.
Residents, visitors and commercial tenants will benefit from the site’s highway access and its location adjacent to NJ Transit’s Brick Church station.
“New Jersey is the state of opportunity, and it’s fitting that this new development will open here
in East Orange, one of our state’s Opportunity Zones,” Murphy said, referencing a federal tax incentive program focused on underserved census tracts. “The Crossings at Brick Church Station will provide residents the opportunity to find
an affordable place to call home
and a good-paying new job, as
well as access to even greater healthy foods options and public transportation options. I applaud the leadership of Triangle Equities, and the partnership of the City
of East Orange, Basis Investment Group, Goldman Sachs, and PNC for making this historic investment in the community of East Orange.”
JLL’s Jose Cruz and Steve Simonelli brokered the sale of the property
to the development team and subsequently arranged joint venture
equity alongside Rob Hinckley, Jeff Julien, Nicco Lupo and Ryan Robertson. Max Herzog, Geoff Goldstein and Matt Pizzolato, also of JLL, arranged financing.
Triangle Equities said Nov. 28 that it had preleased more than 85 percent of the retail space in the first phase. That bodes well for what Green, a former councilman and the mayor since 2018, called “one of the largest and most transformative projects that East Orange has ever seen.”
“The Crossings at Brick Church Station will spark vibrancy in
our city and help us to leverage
our existing assets — diversity, proximity and convenience —
with modern amenities designed
to increase the livability of our community and revitalize our
local economy,” Green said. “The Crossings, right in the heart of
our Transit Village, will bring the ‘cityness’ back to East Orange, raise our property values, spur additional investment and essentially improve the city’s overall fiscal and social health.
“The ripple effect of this project
will certainly be felt by future generations as it opens up doors for more jobs, entrepreneurship, quality mixed-income housing, new retail and shopping and a common place for people to meet and experience the best of East Orange.”
PNC Bank was also on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. Petracca, meantime, noted that the project is leveraging New Market Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Redevelopment Area Bonds and other financing tools as part of a creative capital stack.
“We believe this project will be a catalyst for the transformation of the Main Street corridor in tandem with revitalization of the Brick Church Train Station and other main street revitalization efforts by the city,” he said. “We are thrilled to work on this transformative project with such great partners.”
Petracca also praised ShopRite, the development’s retail anchor.
“We couldn’t be happier than
to partner with ShopRite at the Crossings at Brick Church,” he said. “As the grocery anchor, the new ShopRite signed a long-term lease, giving additional confidence to the community that we are long-term investors who want to see this project, and the entire neighborhood, thrive for years to come.”
An investment group has broken ground on what’s billed as a $500 million development project in East Orange, where plans call for 820 mixed-income apartments and more than 200,000 square feet of commercial space anchored by a new supermarket.
Led by Triangle Equities, the project is redeveloping the former Brick Church Plaza shopping center
on Main Street, between South Harrison and Halstread streets
and just north of Interstate 280. Construction is already underway for what will be known as The Crossings at Brick Church Station, at 533 Main St., with the first of two phases slated to be complete in late 2024.
Those on hand for a ceremonial groundbreaking on Nov. 28 included Triangle Equities’ investment partners, Goldman Sachs and Basis Investment Group, along with co- developer partner Incline Capital, Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver and East Orange Mayor Ted R. Green.
“I want to thank Governor Murphy,
Lt. Governor Oliver, Mayor Ted Green and City Council Chairman Christopher Awe for their support and for welcoming The Crossings at Brick Church into this great community,” said Lester Petracca, president of Triangle Equities. “We also appreciate the tremendous support that we received from
our investment partners Goldman Sachs and Basis Investment Group, illustrating what it takes to make these challenging projects become a reality. We are looking forward
to building a project that we believe will be a catalyst for the redevelopment of this area and provide amenities to a deserving community.”
March Associates Construction
is the construction manager and general contractor for the ground- up project — designed by Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners — which will include a nine-story building, a five-story building and a seven-story parking garage with 1,200 spaces. The full site will comprise 200,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and commercial space, including ShopRite as its
Courtesy: Governor’s Office
Gov. Phil Murphy was on hand Monday, Nov. 28, for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $500 million, mixed-use development project known as The Crossings at Brick Church Station, at 533 Main St. in East Orange.