A rendering of 100 Metro Blvd. in Nutley, where Ralph Lauren Corp. has leased 250,000 square feet as part of the planned ON3 campus — Courtesy: Prism Capital Partners
By Joshua Burd
Prism Capital Partners has completed the first phase of major infrastructure improvements at its ON3 campus in Nutley and Clifton, as it continues to ready the site for new tenants and additional construction.
The developer announced that it has started phase two of its upgrades at the 116-acre property, which calls for creating new internal roadways on the balance of the site. The work follows a first phase that included adding and rebranding streets on the east portion of the complex, installing new sewer and storm water systems and electrical grid enhancements.
Prism said it now expects to complete the full $20 million upgrade by April, touting the cooperation of local officials in transforming the former Hoffmann-LaRoche campus.
“One of the most challenging and exciting parts of creating the ON3 conceptual master plan has been transforming this former one-user campus into a property with distinct development sites that ultimately will combine into a new, unified whole,” said Edwin Cohen, principal partner with Prism. “Phase II is creating that definition with a robust roadway network that both allocates and integrates spaces on ON3’s west side, and enables the campus to be easily — and fully — traversed.
“The input and cooperation of officials from both Clifton and Nutley has been invaluable in creating a plan that will complement and serve their communities,” he added. “These municipal partners have been great allies since day one, and it is gratifying to see our shared vision becoming reality.”
The Bloomfield-based firm acquired the site in fall 2016, about four years after Roche said it would vacate its home of more than 80 years and sent shockwaves through its two host communities. But Prism has made quick and significant progress since then, attracting tenants such as Ralph Lauren Corp. and Modern Meadow, while celebrating the opening this summer of the new Hackensack-Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University.
State incentives have fueled leasing activity at the campus, which Prism has rebranded as ON3. And the property recently hosted Gov. Phil Murphy, who laid out a sweeping economic master plan during a high-profile event focused on innovation and redevelopment.
“The setting was fitting,” Cohen said. “This property has become a poster child for the potential of redevelopment to propel New Jersey, its economy and its role as a preferred commercial destination forward.”
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