Work Starts on $100M Downtown Project

Specifically, Devco has started tearing down the vacant, nine-story Monument Park Hotel, the biggest physical barrier to the development of Heldrich Plaza. The razing is expected to be finished in about two weeks.

The impetus for Heldrich Plaza, which has been in the works for a number of years, is coming from an unusual public-private partnership that includes Devco, private developers, Rutgers University, the NJ Department of Labor, the NJ Redevelopment Authority and the city. The cost, estimated at $100 million, got a boost recently via a $20 million low-interest loan, set to close next week, from the state's Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. Devco has gotten some additional state money and is in the capital markets for most of the rest.

The project takes its name from its major office tenant, the John H. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. The Center is part of Rutgers and is said to be the country's first university-based institute addressing workforce development issues involving multiple layers of government. Heldrich Plaza will also include a residential component, a 250-room hotel, a 50,000-sf executive conference center and street-level retail.

New Brunswick itself is a city of 40,000 in Middlesex County in Central New Jersey. Besides being the site of the main campus of Rutgers University, a 50,000-student institution, it's also the headquarters city for pharmaceutical and personal care giant Johnson & Johnson.

The residential component has been changed since plans were originally announced. The anticipated 125 furnished corporate apartments will be replaced about 40 to 60 condos, with prices anticipated in the $300,000 range. Officially, Devco wants to encourage investment by residents in the city's downtown. Unofficially, it's another way of helping offset the project's costs.

"This is one of New Jersey's most significant urban economic development investments," says a Devco spokesperson. "It represents a unique partnership, it will create jobs and business opportunities, and it continues the city's revitalization strategy.