One by one, Middlesex County officials at Thursday’s morning announcement said the move to consolidate ownership in the Heldrich Hotel and Conference Center in New Brunswick is a game-changer for the county — one that will allow the county to use the premier hotel and conferencing space as a professional development hub for a range of studies by local students and a key business attractor to lure more major companies to the area.
The bigger statement was this: Few other counties in the state — and around the country — would have been financially able to act on this key economic development opportunity.
The fiscal stability and health of Middlesex County, with its AAA bond rating for 23 consecutive years and reduction of debt year after year, enables county officials to invest prudently for the best interest of the community, County Administrator John Pulomena said.
“How is this all possible?” Pulomena asked, and then answered. “It goes back to the philosophy the county enacted decades ago, focusing on bringing its financial house in order and creating an operating structure that recognizes the importance of the public and private partnerships.
“The fact that we’ve got $100 million-plus in surplus, the fact that we invest $80 million a year in capital improvements without financing, allows us to be more creative.”
Getting to this point took time and focus, Pulomena said.
“If you look at the county where it was a decade ago, we would never be in the position we are today if we didn’t get our financial house in order,” he said. “It enables us to do great things for the county, its residents and the business community.”
County officials said that financial focus will enable them to make significant educational and infrastructure investments to the 375,000-square-foot, 11-story property, too.
They said the Heldrich will be reimagined as a professional development hub for a range of studies, including hospitality, culinary, construction management, business administration and trades. And they are confident the new and improved conference space and room amenities will help to attract more businesses to the area.
Why? They’ve already seen proof of concept.
Chris Paladino, the president of the New Brunswick Development Corp. and the lead developer on the Heldrich, the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center and the HELIX (among dozens of other city projects) said the presence of the Heldrich and the county’s economic development focus helped the HELIX attract its biggest tenant: Nokia Bell Labs, which is preparing to move its famed facility to the area.
“I can honestly say, having been intimately involved in the Nokia decision, that the county’s participation in the first HELIX building and overall involvement in economic development helped seal the deal with Nokia,” he told ROI-NJ.
“The fact that the city and the county were aligned, and there wasn’t some of the static that they got in other places, was key,” he said.
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Paladino, who has been a key player in multiple projects with Rutgers University (including the building of new academic buildings, the honors college and the Yard) said the ability to have a facility like the Heldrich serve as a learning ground for students may be unprecedented.
“I know there are other colleges around the country that control an on-campus hospitality facility, but I am unaware of any community college that has access to this type of partnership and facility,” he said.
Numerous county officials were thrilled to take part in Thursday morning’s announcement, including longtime Mayor Jim Cahill and Middlesex County Commissioner Ronald Rios.
“The county’s investment in the Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center, is an investment in the continued economic growth of Middlesex County and New Brunswick,” Cahill said. “The real-life, hands-on educational opportunities that the students will experience will well prepare them for exciting and diverse careers. This is yet another example of the county’s ongoing leadership in economic and workforce development.”
Rios agreed.
“Innovation is a hallmark of Middlesex County,” Rios said. “We are innovating in workforce development, enabling a strong economic future for our community, building new educational pathways for our county students and creating job opportunities.”
Middlesex County Commissioner Chanelle Scott McCullum, chair of the county’s economic development committee, said the unique ability of the county to make such an investment is a credit to the focus of the community and the county’s Destination 2040 strategy.
“It’s incredibly satisfying to see the fruits of that workforce development study come full circle with this educational investment,” she said. “To be co-located in the same building only further strengthens our relationship and ensures our future success.”
