Page 10 - RE-NJ

8 OCTOBER 2025
THE
BRIEFING
EAST ORANGE PROJECT LANDS
$298 MILLION ASPIRE AWARD
The next phase of a massive
redevelopment in East Orange is one
step closer to breaking ground with
the help of a nearly $298 million tax
credit award under the state’s Aspire
program.
According to the New Jersey
Economic Development Authority,
which approved the subsidy on
Sept. 10, the project at 533 Main
St. calls for a nine-story building
with 420 apartments, 86,161 square
feet of retail and restaurant space
and 26,621 square feet of offi ce and
medical space. The $425 million
development by Triangle Equities
was slated to break ground in mid-
October, the EDA said, noting that
it marks the second piece of The
Crossings at Brick Church Station.
“These projects aren’t just build-
ings,” East Orange Mayor Ted Green
said. “They are beacons that will in-
spire our youth and drive our com-
munity forward. We’re doing this
with compassion for every neighbor,
with the authen-
ticity of who
we are, and
with the knowl-
edge that our
collective
strength will
make a signifi -
cant difference
in the lives of others.”
The fi rst phase, which has long
been visible to drivers on Interstate
280, consists of 400 apartments, a
61,000-square-foot ShopRite and
a 1,200-space parking garage and
is nearing completion under a
project designed by Minno & Wasko
Architects and Planners and built
by March Associates Construction.
Phase two — which qualifi es as a
“transformative” project under the
Aspire law and is thus eligible for
larger incentives — is slated to take
25 months.
“The Crossings at Brick Church
Station in East Orange, New Jersey
Ted Green
exemplifi es a transformative project
that strategically leverages the
State’s mass transit and economic
development assets to stimulate
sustainable growth,” the EDA wrote
in a memo to its board. “Situated
adjacent to the NJ Transit Brick
Church Station, the development
provides public transit connectivity,
offering a 25-minute commute
to Midtown Manhattan and even
shorter access to Newark — two
of the region’s most signifi cant
employment centers.
“This direct transit access is a
benefi t for skilled workers who
value effi cient, car-free connectivity
to job opportunities, cultural
institutions and urban amenities.
The Project’s integration with mass
transit infrastructure positions
it as a model for transit-oriented
development (TOD), aligning with
the State’s economic development
priorities.”
Offi cials noted that the project site,
which is currently used as a surface
parking lot, is served by fi ve NJ
Transit bus lines and fronts Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the
north, Harrison Street to the west
and Halsted Street to the east.
“East Orange’s location and
infrastructure also support its
emergence as a hub for talent
Designed by Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners, The Crossings at Brick Church Station will include a second phase with a nine-
story building with 420 apartments, 86,161 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 26,621 square feet of offi ce and medical space.
retention and attraction, particularly
among workers in fi nance, health
care, education and technology,”
the EDA wrote. “By capitalizing
on the proximity to major higher
education institutions such as
Rutgers University–Newark, NJIT
and Seton Hall University, The
Crossings at Brick Church Station
supports synergies between
academic innovation and workforce
development.”
Minno & Wasko and IMC
Construction are the second phase’s
architect and general contractor,
respectively, with the authority
noting that the 420 new apartments
will include 84 affordable units
and 63 workforce housing units.
The project, which has 342 parking
spaces, also entails remediation that
will include a concrete cap over
the site to create a physical barrier
between the project structures and
below-ground contamination.
533 Main Street LLC, the Triangle
Equities affi liate, applied for the
roughly $297.9 million tax credit
alongside co-applicant NSI Aspire
LLC. The latter is an affi liate of
nonprofi t Neighborhood Services
Inc., which will provide residents
of the project with programming
for fi nancial literacy and building
credit, health and wellness,
shopping for healthy foods at the
adjacent ShopRite supermarket and
interviewing skills, resume prep and
job readiness.
The EDA’s approval came nearly
three years after Gov. Phil Murphy
and other offi cials joined Triangle
Equities to break ground on the
$500 million fi rst phase of the plan
to redevelop the former Brick
Church Plaza shopping center.
Those on hand also included
the late Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, a
longtime East Orange resident, as
well as Triangle Equities’ investment
partners Goldman Sachs and Basis
Investment Group.
The Aspire award represents up to
80 percent of eligible project cost
for phase two, accounting for some
$35.7 million for land acquisition
and $262.2 million for the rest of
the eligible costs, the EDA said.
The authority has noted with past
approvals that Aspire, which was
created by the New Jersey Economic
Recovery Act of 2020, is a place-
based economic development
program to support mixed-use,
transit-oriented development
with tax credits to commercial
and residential projects that have
fi nancing gaps.