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RUTHERFORD, NJ-Lincoln Equities and Tarragon Corp. this week unveiled before the local Visionary Committee a revised plan for Highland Cross, a major mixed-use redevelopment of a former industrial site here. The new plan calls for scrapping a proposed office component, but doubling the redevelopment area from 26 to 52 acres.

Lincoln, based in East Rutherford, NJ, has had its hands in the project for several years, but announced earlier this year that it was bringing in the New York City-based Tarragon as a partner. As reported by GlobeSt.com, the two firms also announced that they had embarked on a local outreach program to find out what best to do with the site.

And that program has been turned around quickly. "As a long-time stakeholder in Rutherford, our goal is to work with the borough to design a community that benefits everyone," says Lincoln Equities EVP Joel Bergstein. "By expanding the redevelopment site to encompass an additional 26 acres, we would be better able to provide a unified community."

Lincoln Equities was named redeveloper in 1999, and subsequently completed an environmental remediation at its own expense. Approvals were received in 2003 for more than one million sf of office space, a 216-room hotel and surface parking for 4,000 cars, and the site currently remains cleared for that build-out.

But a couple of potential deals with major office tenants fell through in 2000 and 2001, and with a 2005 vacancy rate of more than 40% for class A space in the Meadowlands submarket, the office portion of the plan is being scrapped. Instead, Lincoln and Tarragon offered an expanded site plan calling for residential, hotel and retail uses. The general plan calls for affordable housing as part of the residential component, as well as recreational and related amenities for the community at-large. Final plans will be derived from an additional input relating to the developers' ongoing outreach program.

"The mixed-use redevelopment of the site offers the community the opportunity to create much-needed real estate tax revenue, far in excess of any municipal costs which the property may generate," says Tarragon EVP of development Todd Schefler. "And we are taking into account the borough's Vision Statement: 2025, which points out the need for new housing options, as well as recreation opportunities. Our overall strategy is to provide the borough with a new community that meets all of its fiscal and quality of life needs."

Instant Insights /

UPDATE: Lincoln Equities, Tarragon Unveil Revised Redevelopment Plan

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