In a move that will enable Middlesex County to better connect business, education, workforce development and community, county officials will announce Thursday morning that the county is investing $16 million to consolidate ownership in the Heldrich Hotel and Conference Center in New Brunswick.
The agreement, a key component of the county’s broad economic development strategy, Destination 2040, means the county will have complete control over the premier hotel and conferencing space in the city, allowing the Heldrich to serve as a professional development hub for a range of studies for local students and a key business attractor to lure more major companies to the county.
County officials said they intend to make significant educational and infrastructure investments, advancing the 375,000-square-foot, 11-story property as a world-class hospitality establishment, known not only in New Jersey but throughout the hospitality industry.
New Brunswick Development Corp., the original developer of the project almost 20 years ago, is investing an additional $1 million, because it, too, believes the hotel and conference center has been, and will continue to be, a significant economic driver for the city of New Brunswick and the county of Middlesex.
County officials said the agreement is a great financial deal for the county and the hotel, which is quickly approaching its pre-COVID level of business — but, it’s about a whole lot more than just dollars and cents, according to County Administrator John Pulomena.
“It’s a missing piece of the puzzle when you look at the type of facility it will become under the county’s authority,” he told ROI-NJ.
“When you recognize the value proposition that the Heldrich brings, not only from the standpoint of jobs and business attraction, but also the ability to fill the need for rooms and conference space while providing a workforce opportunity for our students, you see how it is a critical part of our live-work-play philosophy.”
Consider:
Workforce development
The Heldrich, which opened in 2007, will be reimagined as a professional development hub for a range of studies, including hospitality, culinary, construction management, business administration and trades.
Students, especially those at Middlesex College and Middlesex County Magnet Schools, will benefit from new job opportunities and internships, career paths and expanded educational offerings.
Modeled after a similar effort in the county, the RWJBarnabas Health Workforce Partnership, new or enhanced curriculums will be developed to provide a clear path for county students to take advantage of this unprecedented access to work-based education at an operational hotel that will bolster the future talent pipeline in the county.
Students will learn from the expertise of unionized Heldrich employees to continue to serve and support the hospitality needs of residents, visitors, business leaders, corporate partners and athletes.
Business attraction
Middlesex County and New Brunswick are poised for major economic expansion and job creation over the next several years.
The Rutgers Cancer Institute project, coupled with the first two phases of the HELIX, will bring more than 3,000 health care providers, biologists, microbiologists, chemists, computer scientists, physicists and mathematicians to the city center.
The New Jersey Innovation HUB, Nokia Bell Labs, Rutgers Cancer Institute, Rutgers Translational Research Center and Rutgers School of Medicine will attract thousands of visitors, hundreds of conferences and increase demand for hotel rooms nightly in the city.
County officials feel having an exceptional and innovative meeting space — one recognized for excellence by the International Association of Conference Centers, a globally recognized conference and meeting benchmarking organization — will enable the city to attract even more top companies.
All of these aims fit nicely into the county’s Community, Innovation and Opportunity Strategic Investment Plan that is emerging at Middlesex College.
Community growth
The Heldrich already serves as a key component to the city’s art scene. The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center and the State Theatre are right across the street.
An improved facility will increase a connection that brings more than 150,000 people to the area annually.
Gaining operating control of the facility was a necessity to enable it to operate with county residents — and the county’s economic vision — at the forefront of every action. Bondholders had a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of investors.
Being able to gain control is a credit to the county — and a vision it laid out more than two decades ago, Pulomena said.
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 it to invest prudently for the best interest of the community, he 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 end result is easy to see, Pulomena said.
“It enables us to do great things for the county, our residents and the business community,” he said.
