The office building itself is a project of the Trenton Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit group headed by local business execs. Besides the office space, Liberty Commons will include a ground floor restaurant and wine bar and an adjacent 600-space parking garage. The latter will be separately developed, financed and operated by the Trenton Parking Authority.

Cost of the project has been put at about $12 million each for the office building and parking structure. Liberty Commons has received preliminary approval from the city's planning board, and a final-approval hearing is slated for August 14. The Trenton EDC expects to have site work underway within the next week, however.

"Everybody talks about moving from the suburbs to the city, and about 'smart growth,' but Hill Wallack did it," according to Trenton mayor Douglas Palmer, speaking at a press conference Monday. "Trenton is a city on the move."

"This decision reflects our belief that our clients will be best served through our location in the nerve center of the state," explains Robert W. Basco, managing partner of the firm, which currently occupies 41,000 sf at 202 Carnegie Center in suburban West Windsor, NJ. "This will result in opportunities for daily interaction with government, business and civic leaders."

Liberty Commons itself is an unusual project here in that will be filled by private sector tenants--most recent office development in this city's downtown has been related to the space needs of various government agencies. Costanza Builders is the general contractor for the project, and Steven Cohen Architects is doing the design.

The project is getting some substantial government help, however, including a reported $3.5 million in loans from the NJ Redevelopment Authority and another $3 million in loans from the NJ Economic Development Authority. The Trenton EDC is also reportedly close to finalizing a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal with the city.

Besides the basic 45,000 sf on three floors of the building, Hill Wallack's lease with the Trenton EDC includes an option on another 10,000 feet, plus rental of 180 of the parking garage's 600 spaces, according to Bacso. The initial lease term will be 10 years, and the deal comes with two five-year options, "which we expect to eventually exercise," Bacso says.