Prudential executive comments on building project and vision of redevelopment around Rutgers Business School
The skeleton of steel rising along Broad and Halsey streets will eventually become a 20-story office building for Prudential, but it is already a symbol of the dramatic change coming to a long-withering stretch of Newark’s downtown.
As the construction of the building progresses, workers on the other side of Broad Street continue to revamp Military Park in the style of New York City’s Bryant Park. And in October, specialty grocer Whole Foods confirmed local rumors that it will be an anchor retail tenant in the proposed renovation of the Hahne & Company building.
Prudential had a hand in both, contributing $2 million to the park’s restoration and providing $7.5 million to help L&M Development Partners and the Hanini Group acquire the former department store.
Richard Hummers, vice president of enterprise services and financial systems, at Prudential Financial Services, answered some questions about the company’s new office building, Newark’s latest wave of revitalization and the vision of connecting the Rutgers Campus, including Rutgers Business School, to a redeveloped downtown.
Q: What led to Prudential’s decision to construct a new office building in Newark?
A: "Prudential has been in Newark for roughly 140 years and it’s where we’re likely to stay. We have a large block of leases in the Gateways (a commercial complex near Penn Station) that are expiring. They house something like 2,400 people today between employees and consultants. We had to either renew the leases or move. Discussions to renew with the Gateway landlords were not necessary fruitful. We did the math and constructing a new building made the most economic sense. We looked at five or six different sites in Newark and then we settled on these Broad Street sites. These two blocks in particular, two blighted blocks in the center of downtown, we viewed as the most transformative.”
Q: Do you sense that Newark’s redevelopment is gaining momentum?
A: "I think that in a very real way Newark is at a crossroads in terms of its re-emergence as a prosperous and important city. It’s always had its problems, but I think with companies like Panasonic moving into Newark and companies like PSE&G renewing its leases, there is a very real transformation going on. There’s been some redevelopment. You saw things going in and around the Prudential Center pretty quickly. You’ve seen some restaurants and some housing. That starts the momentum. Big projects and big infusions of capital and giant investments like Prudential’s building project really give that momentum a shot in the arm.”
Q: Is Prudential getting some heat for complicating parking and traffic along Halsey Street?
A: "We’re hearing from a couple of small shop owners who say parking is really hard. The limited number of parking spaces fills up quickly, which makes it hard for their employees to park or for their customers to park and that the construction vehicles makes congestion along Halsey Street worse, which is true. It’s a big construction project. There’s no way to eliminate the disruption but we’ll do everything we can to minimize it. Prudential is working on a multi-faceted program now to offer assistance to local business owners, including a parking agreement with the Newark Parking Authority to provide vouchers to some of the store owners to offer their employees and customers to use in the Military Park Garage, which is only a block away. Prudential is covering the cost of the parking while construction is going on. That’s been approved. We’re also offering technical and marketing assistance to those businesses to remind people that they are still open. It’s really only a handful of businesses immediately adjacent to the construction site. They all acknowledge the value the project will bring to them and their businesses. They just talk about the short term pain that thy have to endure while the project is going on.”
Q: Some people had nearly given up hope for the Hahn’s Building, but now its renovation looks pretty promising – and certain. What was Prudential’s role in the latest plan?
A: "Once Prudential decided to build our new building on those two blocks, we had a vested interest in what happened to our border to the immediate north. We care about what goes into that building and as part of our commitment to Newark we took an active hand in trying to make sure the right partner with the right financial backing came up with a plan.
"The building is an important landmark on Broad Street. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Once a building is on the National Register, what you can do to the building and the ways you can use the building become more limited. It’s an old building that’s been abandoned for years. Structurally, the building is not going to fall down, but there’s been a lot of water damage and it needs a lot of work. I think that scares a lot of people away even people who come in with grandiose and legitimate ideas for what it could be. So there have been a series of attempts to do something that never really got off the ground. We’re very happy with the current plan and the current owners and developers. Prudential was a lender that helped them acquire the building. We helped to put the deal together.”
Q: Prudential has said the new building will hold 3,000 employees. Are those people currently working in Newark or will more employees be coming into the city?
A: Prudential has about 5,400 people in Newark. That number, as you can imagine, goes up and down over time depending on business, depending on issues. The 3,000 people we’re talking about are a combination of existing employees plus the jobs we’ve committed to adding. The bulk of what’s going into the new building is coming from the Gateways. We also have the Wash Building – 213 Washington Street – and the Plaza Building (on Broad Street). One has 1,500 people and the other has about 1,000 people. Those buildings are crowded. We’re going to take advantage of the new building to co-locate groups that should be co-located. It will allow us to manage real estate more effectively at the Plaza Building and Wash and works from an operating perspective because we’re putting together groups that should be co-located. (The new building is expected to be completed in early 2015.)
Q: Do you see the Rutgers Campus, including Rutgers Business School, becoming more incorporated into a redeveloped downtown area?
A: "Rutgers has a population that brings life and economy. Connecting Rutgers to the broader Newark is an important part of the outcome of this redevelopment. You can’t make it happen, but you can try to encourage it. Taking New Street, which is the main drag that connects Rutgers on the backside between the Hahne’s Building and our project and turning that into something that’s pedestrian friendly and interesting to look at, that has retail, whether it’s as simple as a Starbucks or a Dunkin Donuts or something that’s as needed as a grocery store like Whole Foods, is essential.”
-Susan Todd