Expert Q&As

Q&A: Matt Harding, President and Chief Operating Officer of Levin Management Posted By Jodi LaMarco

We spoke with Matt Harding regarding adaptive reuse projects in New Jersey.

Can you tell our readers about some of the adaptive reuse projects that Levin Management is involved in?
One exciting project that we're working on right now is called Edgewater Square, which is located on the Hudson River in Edgewater. It's a mixed-use redevelopment of a former research facility that was owned by Unilever. The space is being redeveloped into a mix of residential, retail, and restaurant. The Edgewater Municipal Complex is also being relocated to the site, which will really create a nice center of town for Edgewater.

It is a combination of a few different aspects of adaptive reuse. Some adaptive reuse projects take a site that was industrial and convert it into retail, or convert other existing structures. We have both of these things going on here. The research facility is no longer in use, and it will be converted to the other uses that I just described. It's a large site of 27 acres, and there are a number of buildings that are on the premises. Some of those buildings are being knocked down, but some of them are being kept for their positioning as well as their architectural significance.

The former research facility contains buildings that are four stories high, and are beautifully sited along the Hudson River. They will be saved, gutted, and then rebuilt into very high-end lofts that will run parallel to the Hudson River. Current zoning usually doesn't permit new construction parallel to the Hudson. These buildings are right on the Hudson, and the reuse of these structures will create the ability to have fantastic vistas. This is an example of reusing a structure that really couldn't be built there today, and taking advantage of the positioning and the architecture of the building.

There will also be new buildings constructed on the site that will be a combination of retail on the ground floor and residential above. There will be some parking structures built on-site, and some additional new residential buildings built on-site as well. We're also going to have a great mix of retailers and restaurants. There will be two really nice restaurants on the river that will be built on a promenade that's being constructed along the whole project. It's also very close to the ferry to and from the city.

When will the development be completed?
Construction has just started, so probably the middle of 2009. It's being developed by a company called National Resources from Greenwich Connecticut.

Can you tell us about the municipal building?
The new municipal building is being built to LEED standards, and will be the first green municipal building built in New Jersey. At the ground breaking for the building, there was a very big deal made out of the care and attention that had been put into creating it.

Are there any other projects that you would like to talk about?
We also have another project in Ewing near Trenton. That is an adaptive reuse project with a two-story shopping center that operated as retail on two levels for quite some time. It can be difficult to get retailers to work on a second level now, unless you're in a pretty unique location like Paramus. We had about 70,000 square feet on the second floor and we converted that to office space.

The building has a nice lobby to give it a real office feel and segregated parking for the office tenants. It works really well. The office employees help to support the retail. The retail is actually a really nice selling point for the office space because there are conveniences right down below. That's called Capitol Plaza. All of this is about trying to find the highest and best use for a particular piece of property or a particular project.

That's what adaptive reuse is really all about: Finding a new use for a site that's already developed. Perhaps the times have changed and that use is no longer the highest and best use for the site. Maybe the neighborhood has changed and it's more residential than it used to be. Adaptive reuse is particularly good in a state like New Jersey where there is a real focus on trying to curb sprawl and reuse sites that are already developed.