ENGLEWOOD, NJ—Office tenants at the ES4 office building under construction in Englewood, NJ will eat well, as The S. Hekemian Group has signed Panera Bread and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza for ground-floor occupancy.

SHG broke ground for ES4 on June 3 and has slated completion for first quarter 2016.

Both Panera Bread and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza will operate their prototype stores at ES4, with the latter offering a full bar. “We obtained a liquor license for ES4, which we have transferred over to Anthony's,” says senior managing director Peter Hekemian.

“Panera and Anthony's, as well as another soon-to-be-announced foodservice tenant, will have a positive impact on the neighborhood, and ES4, when completed, will provide a full live-work-play environment,” says Hekemian. ES4 is the latest phase in the Englewood South neighborhood, a redevelopment of eight contiguous industrial properties, including a historic General Motors plant, the result of a collaboration between SHG and the City of Englewood.

“One will be able to walk over, get your coffee, or croissant, or grab a sandwich or dinner or your pint of beer or glass of wine with co-workers or friends,” Hekemian says. “For a resident or office worker, other than having a grocery store, what better neighborhood amenity can you ask for?”

Hekemian calls ES4 “the intersection of urban and suburban living, combining with nearby apartments to create more of an urban-type neighborhood with the conveniences of the suburbs, including direct highway access. ES4 will add energy to the street, with as many as 250 office workers on-site during the day and residents in the evening.”

Leasing activity has also been brisk on the office component of ES4, the first new office building to be constructed in Bergen County in more than five years. Of the 34,000 square feet of available office space, 17,000 square feet has been signed, with announcements to be made shortly, according to Hekemian. “We are also talking to another potential high-end headquarter-type user for a 7,500-square-foot space.”

The leasing assignment for ES4 is being handled by Brian Silbert, president and CEO, and Wayne Kasbar, vice president, of Silbert Realty & Management of Millington, NJ.

With tenant spaces featuring oversized ceiling heights and loft-like open-plan build-outs, “we are creating a high-end, boutique office building product that will address an unmet demand, or even create a demand that didn't exist,” says Hekemian. “The high level of interest and pre-leasing of the property is a clear indication of that.”