Russo Development’s new headquarters building on From Road is slated to include spaces for collaboration, creativity, wellness, independent work and comfort within an environment that celebrates the company’s culture and long-term commitment to its people. — Renderings courtesy: Russo Development
By Joshua Burd
Russo Development has started construction on its new 45,000-square-foot headquarters in Paramus, hailing the project as a new chapter in its nearly 50-year history as it looks to modernize its workspace and support its sprawling portfolio.
The firm, currently based in Carlstadt, said the three-story building will occupy a prime location on From Road, just north of the Paramus Park Mall and adjacent to the Garden State Parkway. Completion is slated for fall 2026, just months after the developer will have completed its new two-building Vermella Paramus project that will bring some 360 apartments and 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space to a neighboring site.
Russo said the headquarters represents “a major investment in employee experience” and both “a symbolic and physical shift toward a new era of corporate identity and community presence with a focus on quality, innovation, and reinvestment.”
“Russo Development’s success has always been about our people and our communities,” said Edward Russo, the company’s CEO. “Our new headquarters will be a modern workplace built to inspire, connect and perform.”
SLIDESHOW: Russo Development's new headquarters
Founded in 1969 in Hackensack, Russo moved to Carlstadt in 2008 after helping the area become an early hotbed of data center development. It operates a substantial portion of its commercial and residential holdings in Bergen County, while its Vermella residential brand has spread throughout the state across thousands of new units. In Paramus, the firm also has a joint venture partnership with KRE Group under which it plans to build a mixed-used residential community at the Bergen Town Center property off Route 4.
In a news release Monday, Russo said its new office will have spaces for collaboration, creativity, wellness, independent work and comfort within an environment that celebrates the company’s culture and long-term commitment to its people. The building will feature multiple congregation areas for intimate and larger groups throughout, with amenities that will include game rooms, a fitness center and a dining lounge with diverse seating styles.
Plans also call for a dramatic window wall that opens onto an outdoor courtyard with seating and flexible work environments — each of which will be designed, furnished and equipped beyond conventional standards using materials and detailing that Russo described as timeless yet contemporary.
“This project was envisioned and coordinated by the Russo team itself — a reflection of who we are and where we’re going,” said Chris Erb, executive vice president of development for Russo Development. “We engaged the entire organization in the design process. This headquarters embodies the future of Russo — an integrated, self-directed company that leverages the creativity and expertise of those who work here.”
The firm on Monday also announced that it broke ground on a new 211-unit Vermella property in downtown Rahway. The project at Essex and Bridge streets will join the city’s well-known redevelopment corridor, giving residents direct access the adjacent train station and the district’s many amenities via the existing pedestrian bridge over the Rahway River.
The developer described the project as a collaborative effort with the city’s redevelopment agency, with Russo assembling the site from multiple parcels and working closely with local business owners. Footings and foundations are scheduled for completion early this year, while initial occupancy is expected by spring 2027.
“Rahway has been a model of smart, sustained redevelopment for more than a decade,” Erb said. “Vermella Rahway builds on that momentum with a community that connects directly to the city’s transportation hub while complementing its existing neighborhoods and downtown character.”
Russo said the property will have the type of upscale, expansive lobby that Vermella residents are used to, plus high-end amenities that complement its transit-oriented location. The firm is also incorporating sound mitigation design strategies that have been successful at its other properties near train stations, including Waldwick Station.
“As with every Russo Development project, Vermella Rahway reflects a strong architectural identity rooted in its surroundings,” said Diogo Santos, the firm’s senior vice president of development. “The design incorporates subtle references to historic train station architecture, blending transportation-inspired elements along the rail-facing elevations with a more civic, downtown-square character on the opposite façade.”
