Jim Kirkos, CEO and president of the Meadowlands Chamber — Courtesy: Aaron Houston
By Joshua Burd
The Meadowlands Chamber has opened the doors to a new headquarters and visitors center in Lyndhurst, debuting a space with high-end technology and modern meeting rooms that will help expand the resources for businesses in the region.
The organization, one of the state’s most influential chambers of commerce, welcomed a crowd of business leaders and public officials on Friday to unveil the space at 1099 Wall Street West. Spanning roughly 7,000 square feet, the new “chamber of the future” features sleek common areas that will be open to members daily in order to invite networking and collaboration, along with rentable spaces such as a videoconference room and a podcast studio.
The chamber and its staff, led by CEO and President Jim Kirkos, have relocated from Rutherford and are leasing the ground-floor space from Bergman Real Estate Group. Steven Leitner of NAI James E. Hanson represented the organization in the transaction.
“I think we can all agree that we all got what we needed,” Kirkos said. “This place is amazing. This changes the way we look at ourselves as an organization and it changes the way we provide services to our members, perhaps well into the future.”
Speaking during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Kirkos touted a long list of new offerings that will modernize the activities of its executive team, board and members. He also recognized a host of stakeholders who helped bring the new headquarters to fruition over more than a year, including Dancker, a Somerville-based firm that oversaw its technology, modular wall systems and furniture, and locally based Guzzo & Guzzo Architects.
The space will also be a hub for the Meadowlands Chamber’s tourism and destination marketing efforts, which will include a large focus on the newly opened American Dream project in East Rutherford, but also the small businesses that serve as the region’s economic backbone. It will also serve as a tool for statewide organizations such as Choose New Jersey, a business attraction agency that operates in partnership with the private sector.
“As an organization who leads the efforts in business attraction for the state of New Jersey, it is spectacular to see not only a facility like this, a region like this, but a chamber that is so supported,” said Jose Lozano, CEO and president of Choose New Jersey. “If you want to look at what success is, just look at this room.
“I’m ecstatic that we have a great place that now, when we bring folks to Bergen County, we can show off — not only domestically, but internationally. And it’s great to see that there are members like this who will be supportive and will be open-minded and welcoming for when new companies want to come here.”
