Real Estate Journal — New Jersey — April 10 - 23, 2015 — 7B
www.marejournal.com
M id A tlantic
S outhern N ew J ersey By Ann Brady, PlanSmart NJ PlanSmart NJ to help towns adapt vacant office parks, empty shopping centers P lanSmart NJ has an- nounced a two-year initiative to help com- adapt and redesign these places so that they are bet- ter woven into the fabric of ment but they are increas- ingly understood to be unsus- tainable and a drain on the
planners. A summit, scheduled for Friday, June 5, 2015 at the War Memorial in Trenton, will examine the impacts of these underutilized and underperforming corporate campuses and retail centers on local towns and regions of the state. Local leaders and ex- perts will provide insights on challenges and opportunities for repurposing these sites. A 2016 summit will draw from the Guidebook summarizing nationwide best practices and regional opportunities for the present and future. n
the sites and have difficulty imagining how a new use can be effectively integrated into their existing community. Said NAIOP’s CEO Michael McGuinness , “When signa- ture sites such as the historic Bell Labs complex in Holmdel remain vacant and off the tax rolls for many years while mil- lions of dollars are being spent for the site to be successfully repurposed, clearly we have a great deal of work ahead of us to help our communities meet this challenge. The goal of this project is to identify opportunities to
m u n i t i e s seeking to r e pu r p o s e u n d e r u t i - lized, under- performing, and vacant office and re- tail centers that g i ve
“Corporate consolidation and relocation has resulted in entire office campuses being vacated throughout the state, a trend that is continuing today.”
their existing neighborhoods, meeting the employment and housing needs of the new economy and its work force. PlanSmart NJ’s executive director, Ann Brady noted that “corporate campuses and retail centers were once the model for economic develop-
economy. Local leaders often find it difficult to create con- sensus and a shared vision for repurposing these sites.” The project will be guided by a steering committee of a cross section of stakehold- ers, including local officials, developers, investors, and
Ann Brady
municipalities the appear- ance, if not the reality, of economic and social distress. New Jersey is said to now have an inventory of empty office space sufficient to last sixty years. Corporate con- solidation and relocation has resulted in entire of- fice campuses being vacated throughout the state, a trend that is continuing today. With this loss of office workers and slow recovery from the 2008 recession, local retail has also suffered. While many office campuses are set back from the road with only “for lease” signs to mark their fate, shopping centers more prominently display empty windows and empty spaces that, even if well maintained, give the impression that the area is in decline. Rather than view these sites as blight, PlanSmart NJ, an independent not for profit with nearly 50 years of land use planning and research ex- perience, sees an opportunity to reinvent these suburban centers in ways that attract and retain the multicultural millennials sought by today’s future-oriented employers. Michael Egenton of the NJ State Chamber of Commerce and a member of PlanSmart NJ’s Board of Directors, said, “Repurposing these ‘stranded assets’ into functional, fiscal- ly sustainable, and environ- mentally resilient assets are key to New Jersey’s economic recovery.” PlanSmart NJ is analyzing demographic and real estate data and is evaluating best practices and case studies to write and publish a Repur- posing Stranded Assets Guidebook in 2016. The Guidebook will be a resource for developers as well as for those that advise local offi- cials regarding changing land uses for a changing economy. Community leaders are some- times skeptical of developers with an alternative vision for
2015 NJ Regional Planning Summit Stranded Suburban Real Estate Assets: Changing Economy, Changing Land Use
Friday, June 5, 2015 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM The War Memorial Trenton, NJ
KEYNOTE SPEAKER Galina Tachieva Managing Partner DPZ Partners, Architect and Town Planners
Also Featuring Ted Zangari, Esq. Sills Cummis & Gross
Register at www.plansmartnj.org/2015-summit
PlanSmart NJ 118 West State Street Trenton, NJ 08608 609.393.9434 www.plansmartnj.org
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