Redeveloper Named for Riverfront Tract

The agreement covers 20 underutilized acres within the park, which already has a number of users on-site, among them Canon Financial Services, Mother's Kitchen and the Burlington County YMCA Riverfront Complex. What Commerce Square Vista, a Moorestown-based group, has in mind for the build-out are four office buildings totaling approximately 252,000 sf, and estimated to generate between 700 and 1,000 jobs. Projected cost has not been released.

"There has been great interest in the property, and we are pursuing several corporations that could occupy space in one of the four planned office buildings," says Commerce Square Vista's Jay O'Donnell, who's heading the project.

"The land is attractive," says Burlington Mayor Jim Fazzone. "All one has to do is stand on that property and look toward the river for one of the nicer views on the Delaware River in any city or township in New Jersey. There has been a lot of excitement about the revitalization of waterfront properties that have turned other New Jersey cities around, like Jersey City, Hoboken and Red Bank.

"Whether it's office space or recreational space, overlooking a waterway will give this project a quality that does not exist anywhere else in this half of the state, unless you go to Atlantic City," Fazzone says.

The site has proximity to the Burlington Bristol Bridge, the New Jersey Transit Riverline, and to the Route 130 corridor. "The main routes and Riverline access can easily transport employees from various parts of the southern and central region of New Jersey and Pennsylvania," O'Donnell says. "In addition to the transportation, the existing YMCA has on-site daycare and other programs for companies, another plus."

"Burlington City was the historic center of commerce in the area from colonial times," says Mark Remsa, director of economic development for Burlington County. "The Commerce Square property was once a machine plant that made shells for ammunition during World War II. The county looks favorably upon this project for creating jobs and helping to further diversify the local and regional economy."