Connell Co. Plans NJ Towers

The Connell Co. has announced plans for a pair of luxury residential buildings at The Park in Berkeley Heights, N.J. The two buildings, collectively known as RT Residences, will feature the 11-story, 179-unit RT500 and 8-story, 149-unit RT600.

The projects will be part of the $500 million transformation of The Park, a redevelopment that is changing an office park to a destination neighborhood intended to compete for office tenants and residents with Manhattan.

“We started the process of rezoning prior to COVID-19 and had a first rezoning completed,” Shane Connell, executive vice president, Cornell Co. told Multi-Housing News. “COVID-19 was a tipping point. People working in office buildings started working from home, and enjoying the flexibility of their workdays, and tenants got excited because they could get people back in the office without the commute, which helped the office product become interesting to companies.”

Connell noted that the project is 97 percent leased with a location that provides a convenient and viable alternative to Manhattan.

Project details

Each residential building is set to feature amenities including outdoor pools, entertainment lounges, game rooms, coworking spaces, fitness centers and an array of hospitality-based amenities and services. RT500 will be linked to Café Exchange, a distinctive coffee shop concept open to the public. Its 6,000 square feet will offer a central setting for the community to connect away from their homes, work and technology.

The 185-acre larger campus features 1.5 million square feet of office space, along with a 176-unit Embassy Suites hotel and a 110,000-square-foot Lifetime Fitness. Also added will be 178,000 square feet of retail, which will house, among other tenants, five restaurant concepts that The Connell Co. will own and operate. The company will also add five large parks connected by a three-mile walking trail, with one of the parks intended as a large gathering place for entertainment, concerts and farmers’ markets.

The Park is located on Rt. 78, providing commuting convenience by car. The New Jersey Transit operates a shuttle bus that connects The Park to train stations in Berkeley Heights, Summit and New Providence. The first phase of the development, to be delivered between June and October of next year, will include all the retail and RT500, Connell said. RT600 will be delivered at the end of 2027.

Earlier this year, 55 Riverwalk Place in West New York, N.J. changed hands for $158.5 million. PGIM Real Estate sold the 348-unit property.

PGIM Real Estate has sold 55 Riverwalk Place, a 348-unit multifamily community in West New York, N.J., for $158.5 million to a new joint venture between a global institutional investment manager and Aker Cos., a NYC-based multifamily owner and operator, public records show. Fronting the Hudson River, the property is situated directly across Manhattan.