Editor’s Note
Bearing fruit

I’m as guilty as anyone of overusing words like “transformative” when it comes to major redevelopment projects. But it seems in some instances like there’s no avoiding it. A case in point is a plan for Woodbridge’s Metropark train station, where surface parking lots will become a new office and ambulatory care center spanning nearly 250,000 square feet, as well as 235 luxury apartments and retail space. If you ask me, that seems transformative enough.

Our cover story this month is a deep dive on that project, which Hackensack Meridian Health unveiled in early March alongside Gov. Phil Murphy and a team that includes Russo Development, Onyx Equities and Dinallo Development.

Retail
The health care effect: Inside the deal for Hackensack Meridian’s new hub at Metropark — and what it says about the industry’s role in commercial real estate

Plans for a high-profile Hackensack Meridian Health facility in Woodbridge are only 18 months in the making. Yet it was the product of relationships that had formed years earlier at the upper levels of New Jersey’s real estate and health care sectors, helping to make good on years of planning by state and local officials to activate the Metropark train station.

Health Care & Education
Hackensack Meridian breaks ground on new office, health center at mixed-use Metropark site

Construction is set to begin on nearly 250,000 square feet of new corporate and medical office space in Woodbridge, the future home of a Hackensack Meridian Health facility and the first piece of a distinctive mixed-use project at the Metropark train station.

Government & Public Policy
EDA approves $114 million tax credit for major HMH health care hub, apartments at Metropark

The state has pledged nearly $114 million in tax credits over 10 years to a project that would transform the Metropark train station in Woodbridge, where plans call for 235 apartments and nearly 250,000 square feet of office and medical space for Hackensack Meridian Health.

Events
Real estate icons among honorees at Meadowlands Chamber gala, 50th anniversary celebration

If there was any doubt about the commercial real estate industry’s impact on northern New Jersey, this year’s Meadowlands Chamber Legacy Awards Reception was a clear reminder. The organization hosted the annual gala on Oct. 12 while marking the 50th anniversary of its founding. Fittingly, it also unveiled a list of the 50 most influential people in the region’s history — including more than a dozen iconic developers and real estate service providers, from Jerry Gottesman and Jon and Peter Hanson to Gretchen Wilcox and Dave Gockel.

Residential & Mixed Use
Russo welcomes project partners, local officials to new Orange apartments

Russo Development recently marked the opening of Essex & Crane, its new luxury apartment building in Orange, welcoming project partners and local officials to tour the 209-unit property.

Government & Public Policy
Russo, Onyx and Terminal to lead transformation of NJ Transit’s Metropark station

State officials have picked Russo Development, Onyx Equities and Terminal Construction to spearhead a project that would reshape NJ Transit’s busy Metropark station in Woodbridge.

Professional Services
RSC touts design of Hudson County vo-tech school (SLIDESHOW)

An architecture firm has unveiled its designs for a new $143 million, technologically advanced high school in Hudson County.