A rendering of a planned 266-room Marriott AC and Element Hotel at Prism Capital Partners’ ON3 campus in Nutley in Clifton — Courtesy: Prism
By Joshua Burd
Prism Capital Partners has secured final site plan approval to build a 266-room hotel in Clifton, as it looks to further expand the mix of uses at its flagship ON3 campus.
According to the developer, the milestone paves the way for construction of a dual-branded Marriott AC and Element Hotel that will be visible from Route 3. Plans for the seven-story structure include a rooftop bar and both limited-service and extended-stay options, allowing Prism to bring a hospitality component to the 116-acre redevelopment site.
The hotel would join a growing list of office, health care and life sciences users that are helping to repopulate the iconic former Hoffmann-LaRoche research campus.
“The city of Clifton understands the immense benefits of a world-class, mixed-use property,” said Eugene Diaz, a principal partner with Prism. “It has been a great partner in embracing our vision for ON3 and supporting the development needed to realize its full potential. The hotel and rooftop bar are long-missing amenities for this area, and by securing the Marriott flag, we continue to establish ON3 as a magnet for industry-leading brands.”
Located in both Nutley and Clifton, ON3 is among the state’s most high-profile redevelopment sites. Prism has been focused on bringing new users to the property since acquiring it in fall 2016, in a deal that came roughly three years after Roche announced it would cease operations there.
The developer has repopulated the campus with new ground-up development and with leases that have helped backfill its existing office and life sciences space. The deals have involved users such as Eisai Inc., Quest Diagnostics, Ralph Lauren Corp., Modern Meadow, Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc. and Seton Hall University’s Graduate College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences.
ON3 is also home to the Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine, which also preleased a planned 80,000-square-foot medical office building at the site, as well as the health system’s Center for Discovery and Innovation. The hotel, which will be located along Metro Boulevard, will benefit from the property’s existing campus infrastructure, including its central utility plant with a 10-meagwatt cogeneration facility.
Prism, which is based at ON3, expects that more than 5,500 people will be employed on the campus by the end of this year, while the ongoing redevelopment also is creating hundreds of construction jobs. Diaz said the property’s location and proximity to Manhattan “has provided us with an opportunity to create a property that speaks to the changing demands of New Jersey communities, residents and businesses.”
