New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) and its flagship publication, New Jersey Business Magazine, are honoring the visionaries behind 10 New Jersey development projects with New Good Neighbor Awards.
The 65th Annual New Good Neighbor Awards highlights projects that have contributed to the economic growth in the state and in their respective neighborhoods.
“The winning projects have created about $400 million in capital improvements, more than 1,500 construction jobs and nearly 800 permanent jobs, providing valuable assets and generating tremendous economic activity,” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka.
“These winning projects improve our quality of life, revitalize neighborhoods, provide valuable services and resources and bring communities together. And it shows what can happen when we put business at the center.”
Here are the 10 companies honored.
Phelps Construction Group’s New HQ
When Phelps Construction Group (PCG) decided to look for a bigger headquarters to accommodate its growing business, the company zeroed in on 255 West Main St. in Denville.
PCG collaborated with ENV architects of Englewood Cliffs to transform the building into a structure with private flex offices, collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms and multipurpose rooms for lunch and leisure. The addition of a prefabricated metal warehouse brought the final footprint to 10,000 square feet.
The $3.4 million project, completed late last year, employed 317 construction workers and the addition of 28 full-time workers to PCG’s ranks.
NJ Hall of Fame Entertainment & Learning Center at American Dream
New Jersey has unveiled the NJ Hall of Fame Entertainment and Learning Center at American Dream in East Rutherford, a 10,000-square-foot space with exhibits paying tribute to hometown heroes.
The center includes a tour of NJ Hall of Fame inductees’ hometowns in a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle. The $20 million project – with Gensler of Morristown as architect and Kovic International Contractors of Mahwah – employed 23 workers during construction and has led to 25 full-time positions at the center.
Crow Holdings at Carteret
In 2021, Crow Holding Development purchased a 126-acre property near the mouth of the Rahway River – a former brownfield site that had been remediated by Rahway Arch Properties and fully approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
By mid-2023, Crow Holdings at Carteret, a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse distribution property, had been completed, and welcomed its first tenants.
The $300 million project created 500 construction jobs. Upon full occupancy, its remaining 480,000 square feet will support about 350 full-time positions. M+H Architects of St. Louis worked on the project.
Veterans Park
The property in Monroe Township includes athletic fields, a playground, cricket patch, pavilion, and free spray park for children, and was enhanced with a new restroom and storage facility to better serve citizens and events.
Located at 61 Avenue K, Veterans Park underwent an upgrade in the offseason to better accommodate the growth in Monroe Township. Scozzari Builders of Trenton also equipped the bathroom area with an administrative booth to accommodate events at the park.
The $1 million project measures 2,000 square feet and was designed by Michael V. Testa Architect of Manalapan. During construction, Scozzari Builders employed 25 workers, and the project added three full-time employees to the Veteran’s Park staff.
The Stable at Lord Stirling Park
With the help of USA Architects of Somerville and Scozzari Builders of Trenton, a new, fully accessible barn was unveiled – complete with 16 horse stalls, three tack rooms, onsite laundry, and feed rooms. The $2.5 million, 6,300-square-foot structure was manufactured in California, transported in pieces, and constructed on site.
The new barn will host Somerset County Park Commission horses, Rocking Horse Rehab and horse boarding, while addressing other community equine needs.
Scozzari employed 30 people during construction, and six full-time stable workers were relocated to the new barn.
The Nell
The once-bustling town of Dunellen is developing a walkable downtown because of projects like The Nell, a $54 million mixed-use redevelopment of the former Art Color site.
Designed by Spiezle Architectural Group of Hamilton, it includes a 252-apartment multifamily component as well as 130 townhouses developed by K. Hovnanian Homes. The property is bolstering the community with the creation of two dozen full-time positions, not including the 250 construction workers employed during the build.
In addition, a 9,300-square-foot, retail building on South Washington Avenue is up and running. Builder Prism Capital Partners of Nutley was involved in the project.
Saint Peter’s Family Health Center
Last March, Saint Peter’s University Hospital completed a $12 million, 32,000-square-foot upgrade to Saint Peter’s Family Health Center that has doubled the number of clinical exam rooms, added an on-site laboratory, and expanded the physical therapy area.
The project also includes the new Market at Saint Peter’s, which is increasing access to produce, non-perishable goods, baby care items, and hygiene products at no cost to patients.
Led by McGuire Group Architects of Melville, N.Y., and builder Epic Management of Piscataway, the project employed 91 workers during construction, and the hospital has since added 118 full-time jobs.
CenterPoint at Linden
In 2019, real estate developer CenterPoint decided on a 20-acre site near the Port of Newark-Elizabeth for its proposed industrial facility. It would be a significant upgrade over the existing “Linden Marketplace,” which had struggled to attract tenants since its anchor building was vacated by Walmart.
Over the next 18 months, CenterPoint worked closely with the previous landowner and the City of Linden to relocate the remaining retail tenants and develop a plan for CenterPoint at Linden, a 321,765-square-foot facility completed in the fall of 2023.
Under the leadership of Princeton architect KSS and builder RC Anderson LLC of Fairfield, the self-funded project integrated sustainability features like a future solar array and the infrastructure to incorporate EV-charging facilities throughout the car parking areas.
Bleakley Financial Group
Bleakley Financial Group’s new U.S. headquarters in Parsippany was developed for this multi-billion-dollar financial planning and advisory firm by Kimmerle Group architects of Morristown and built by DiSousa Contracting Consulting of Boonton. The 26,000-square-foot location at 300 Kimball Drive includes breakout areas for creative meetings, private spaces for focused work, high-tech meeting rooms equipped for virtual collaboration.
The $1.8 million space with sustainability features opened just before Christmas and is a combination of open plan and upscale client meeting areas.
Black Swallowtail Studios
Eatontown native Erik Massimino started a media company in his hometown in 2020 to create a community resource for artists, local governments, schools, and business pros. Called Black Swallowtail Studios, this production facility for commercial video, podcasting, photography and live streaming caught on so well that Massimino decided to add a second control room last year.
The $150,000 investment, which was completed in October, doubled operational capacity, allowing Black Swallowtail Studios to support multiple productions simultaneously.
The 3,000-square-foot project, which was self-designed, self-financed, and built by Huntley Renovation LLC, of Eatontown, has created eight construction jobs while leading to two full-time and several part-time/freelance employment opportunities.
