June 15, 2015 - On Line News

Sponsored By:                                                  June 15, 2015 STRONG COLLEGE CONSTRUCTION REPORTED AT ALLIANCE CONFERENCE  Billions of dollars in new facilities were described at a special higher education capital construction conference hosted by the New Jersey Alliance for Action. Speakers credited the $750 million higher education bond issue for the impetus of many of the public and private construction projects.  The Alliance was a key supporter of the bond issue. Alliance President Philip K. Beachem said it took ten years to get the $750 million bonds passed --- "but we should begin to talk to Trenton now about the next higher education bond issue." Highlights of the presentations by higher education leaders were: New Jersey City University President Sue Henderson outlined some $400 million of upcoming and ongoing construction projects --- creating a larger urban development role on the west side of Jersey City. Rowan University Senior Vice President for Facilities & Operations Donald Moore discussed expansion of its Glassboro and Camden campuses with projects totaling over $500 million.  He stressed that Rowan now has two medical schools. Saint Peter's University President Eugene Cornacchia reported on the $277 million McGinley Square project, which would include a new student center and 400 new market rate housing units. New Jersey Institute of Technology Provost and Senior Executive Vice President Fedi Deek provided details on a number of major projects totaling over $270 million --- including building for Life Sciences and Technology, Wellness and Events Center and a renovation of Newark's historic Central King High School.  Rutgers University Executive Director for Facilities Planning and Development Frank Wong said the State University has $807.5 million in the pipeline for its New Brunswick, Newark and Camden campuses.  He pointed particularly to the "heart of the campus" under construction on College Avenue in New Brunswick. Passaic County Community College President Steven Rose celebrated the projects throughout New Jersey, including the ten community colleges he was representing.  ALLIANCE FOR ACTION ANNOUNCES 2015 EAGLE AWARD WINNERS Six leaders of New Jersey's economic life will receive prized Eagle Awards at the New Jersey Alliance for Action's 41st annual dinner on October 22.  The dinner will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick.               Alliance Chairman George Laufenberg and President Philip K. Beachem announced the members of Eagle Awards Class of 2015.  They are: Michael Capelli, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Sigurd Luccassen Labor Award. Veronique Hakim, Executive Director of NJ Transit, Richard M. Hale Chairman's Award. Robert Fischer, Chief Engineer of the NJ Turnpike Authority, John L. Buzzi Engineering Excellence Award. Sister Rosemary Jeffries, President of Georgian Court University, President's Award. Frank F. Criscola, Chairman and CEO of Crisdel Group, Inc., Ellis S. Vieser Lifetime Achievement Award. Richard Alaimo, President of Alaimo Group. Walter Rand South Jersey Award. Click here to register.  SOUTH JERSEY GAS REAPPLIES FOR NATURAL GAS PIPELINE South Jersey Gas has applied again to build a 22-mile natural gas pipeline to the B.L. England Generating Station in Upper Township.  The reapplication received the strong endorsement of the region's large daily newspaper, the Press of Atlantic City, for air quality and the economy.  The last time South Jersey Gas applied to build the pipeline, the staff of the Pinelands Commission recommended approval but the Commission voted 7-7 and the pipeline failed. The new effort is a private development application that shows the project meets Pinelands National Reserve standards. Alliance for Action Executive Vice President Jerry Keenan spoke at the Press Conference.  EDA APPROVED MAJOR AWARDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A ten-year $39.3 million Grow New Jersey Award to Audible, Inc., to create a new technology center in Newark topped the list of awards announced by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA).  Audible, a provider of spoken, audio information and entertainment, said the Center would be located on James Street in downtown Newark.  It is a subsidiary of Amazon and the center would house an engineering and development hub, retaining 50 jobs and creating an additional 350. The EDA also approved a ten-year $33.9 million award for Pennsauken-based Contemporary Graphics and Bindery, Inc., to relocate to a 124,000-square-foot facility in Camden.  A ten-year $16.5 award was approved to Fidelity Global Brokerage Group to locate a new facility in Jersey City with 200 new full-time jobs.  NEW MARRIOTT HOTEL COMING TO WATERFRONT IN HARRISON  Advance Realty announced plans to develop a hotel in Harrison as part of Harrison's mixed-use Riverbend District waterfront redevelopment efforts.  The Bridgewater-based developer reported that the 85,000 square-feet AC Hotel By Marriott will include 150 suites as well as a restaurant, retail and office space to supplement development in the 35-acre district.  RUTGERS GETS $500,000 FEDERAL GRANT TO STATE TECHNOLOGY PARK  Rutgers University will receive a $500,000 Federal Economic Development Grant to help plan an Innovation Park at Rutgers on 30 acres at the Livingston campus. The project will seek to break down barriers between academia and industry.  Christopher Molloy, a Senior Rutgers Vice President for Research and Economic Development said: "Ultimately, we expect the park to be a stakeholder-driven, model for technological innovation, industry growth and workforce development.  It will ensure a true community of innovation in Central Jersey between New York and Philadelphia." The park will also be funded by $10 million from the State's Building Our Future Bond.   STOCKTON GETS LEASE FOR NEXT GEN AVIATION PARK A lawsuit settled between the South Jersey Economic Development District and its former executive director paved the way for a land lease transfer to Stockton University's Aviation Research & Technology Park. The lease transfer of 58 acres in Egg Harbor Township, Stockton now plans development to begin on the first building in the park by year-end. Construction is scheduled to include a total of seven buildings with 400,000 square feet of office and research space. The first building will offer 66,000 square feet, with 7,000 square feet of it set aside for the FAA.

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Online News - May 18, 2015

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ALLIANCE FOR ACTION HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE SET FOR JUNE 11TH  The Alliance's annual "Building Our Future - Higher Education Conference" is set for June 11th at the Edison Hotel and Conference Center.  University and College leaders will outline their capital plans and projects at this exclusive event.  Each year, approximately 250 higher education, government, business, labor and press leaders turn out for the conference.  Speakers include:   New Jersey Institute of Technology President Joel Bloom New Jersey City University President Sue Henderson Passaic County Community College President Steven Rose Rowan University VP for Facilities & Operations Donald Moore Rutgers, The State University Senior VP for Administration Bruce Fehn Saint Peter's University President Eugene Cornacchia Seton Hall University Associate VP Matthew Borowick Register your spot today!  Click Here MIDDLESEX ALLIANCE TO REVIEW COUNTY/LOCAL PROGRESS  Economic progress in the county and localities will be on the agenda for a meeting on Tuesday, May 19 of the Middlesex County Alliance for Action.  The meeting will be held at the NJ Carpenters Funds Conference Center, Raritan Plaza II, 91 Fieldcrest Avenue, Edison with registration at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9:00 a.m. Speakers will include: Christopher Paladino, President of New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac Frank Lucchaski, Regional Manager for PSE&G NJ DOT Project Manager John Campi, Jr.   Middlesex Co-chairs are Freeholder Ronald Rios; Anthony Coscia, Head Partner, Windels, Marx, Lane & Mittendorf LLP and Kevin Duncan, President, Middlesex County Building & Construction Trades Council.  Click here to register.  GROUND BROKEN FOR $45 MILLION DEPTFORD PEDIATRIC FACILITY  Ground was broken in Deptford for a $45 million outpatient facility by the Nemours Children's Health System.  The 65,000-square-foot facility -- Nemours DePont Pediatrics --- is scheduled to open in the summer of 2016 with a same-day ambulatory surgery center, including two operating rooms. Nemours, which has children's hospitals in Wilmington, Delaware and Orlando, Florida, has provided pediatric health care for more than a decade to New Jersey through a partnership with Inspire Health Network in Vineland, Voorhees, and Woodbury.  Nemours said the new Deptford facility will have a staff of between 75 and 100 and offer pediatric care in 25 specialties, with on-site imaging including MRI. GROUND BROKEN FOR 44-STORY JERSEY CITY APARTMENT BUILDING Ground was broken for a 44-story luxury rental building in Jersey City's Liberty Harper Forth District.  The 448-Unit building at 33 Park Avenue is expected to be completed by spring 2017.  It will be the first of two high-rises at the waterfront site, including development of a 217-room Marriott Hotel. Fischer, based in Purchase, NY, said the entire project would generate nearly 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs.  CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY FOR HOBOKEN APARTMENTS Advance Realty reported that vertical construction is underway for a new 140-unit luxury apartment building in Northern Hoboken.  The site is the corner of 14th Street and Willow Avenue, called Willow 14. It will sit atop of a four-story underground parking garage and will include 20,000 square feet of retail space.  Michael Sommer, Managing Director of Advance Realty, said the project was designed for a prime location at a gateway entrance to Hoboken about a mile from the Lincoln Tunnel entrance.  WORK BEGINS ON NEW METLIFE GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS  Construction began on MetLife Investments' new global headquarters in Hanover.  The 185,000-square-foot, built-to-suit office building will move some 850 employees from Morristown, where MetLife has been for 15 years to meet growth needs.  The four-story complex on Whippany Road is expected to be completed by summer 2016. The Met Life building will mark the second phase of the redevelopment of the former Alcatel-Lucent campus which began with the East Coast headquarters for Bayer HealthCare.  MOVES BEING MADE TO DEVELOP INDUSTRIAL SITE IN PERTH AMBOY Movement has begun to transform a long-vacant 70-acre site in Perth Amboy into a new waterfront industrial complex minutes from the New Jersey Turnpike.  A group including Jeff Milinaik of Bridge Development Partners LLC and St. Louis-based Commercial Development Co., Inc., joined city officials to kick off demolition of 13 structures on State Street to make way for the project  The work calls for remediating and rejuvenating a site once home to the American Smelting and Refining Co. which closed its doors in 1978. Commercial Development, which acquired the site in a 2009 bankruptcy sale, is preparing to complete a cleanup.  That will provide Bridge Development Partners with a site ready for a two building, one-million-square foot industrial complex.  KENNEDY HOSPITAL LAUNCHES $200 MILLION EXPANSION IN CHERRY HILL Kennedy University Hospital marked a major milestone recently as it broke ground on a two-phase, $200 million expansion project to its hospital on Chapel Avenue. The first phase of the project, which includes an enclosed 700-space parking garage and a brand new 102,000 square-foot "medical mall" for outpatient services at a cost of $65 million. Citing the resurgence of the Cherry Hill Mall as well as the success of the Garden State Plaza on Haddonfield Road, President and CEO of Kennedy Health System Joseph Devine said Kennedy felt strongly it was time for them to make a big investment and a long-term commitment to stay in Cherry Hill. VICTORY ROAD PRESENTS THREE TOP SPEAKERS  Three outstanding speakers will feature the June 2 Victory Road Leadership Speaker Series at Collins Arena, Brookdale Community College.  They are: Navy Captain Tom Chaby, former Commanding Officer of Seal Team Five; Eric Kapitulik, Founder and CEO of The Program, a team-building and leadership development company; and Merril Hoge, former NFL professional football star and Chairman of the Board of the Highmark Caring Foundation.  For more information click here.  PEOPLE ON THE MOVE  Dr. David Shulkin President of Morristown Medical Center, was nominated by President Obama as under-secretary for Health in the Department of Veterans' Affairs.  ·         Margie Piliere, has been named, Chief Economic Development Officer at Choose New Jersey Inc.  ·         Rafael Perez has joined Connell Foley as a Partner in Connell Foley's Public Finance Group.  PDF Version of Post

March - Online News and Updates

 

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PORT-RELATED SOUTH JERSEY SITE SET FOR DEVELOPMENT
A gunpowder factory that has long been shuttered is scheduled to be developed into a privately owned port along the Delaware River in Greenwich Township, South Jersey. The announcement was made by State Senate President Steve Sweeney. He led a press conference to report that the former DuPont Repauno plant was sold to Fortress Investment Group of New York, which has similar ports in the Florida Everglades, the Port of Miami and Beaumont, Texas. Sweeney said more than nine years of marketing, searching and negotiating went into the sale of the site of more than 1,700 acres. A spokesman for Fortress said it is possible the new port could include import and export facilities for automobiles and warehousing.

GENERIC DRUG FIRM TO BRING 300 JOBS TO EAST WINDSOR
Mayor Janice Mironov announced Aurobindo Pharma USA has purchased 90 acres on Windsor Center Drive in East Windsor with plans to develop the site for a major pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution center. Aurobindo is a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer and wholly owned subsidiary of Aurobindo Limited headquartered in India. The new center is expected to generate at least 300 new jobs at the East Windsor location.

WORK BEGINS ON 300-UNIT COMPLEX IN NORTH ARLINGTON 
Work began on a 300-unit luxury rental community known as Woodmont West in North Arlington on a 55-acre site on Valley Road at the Howard Boulevard Exit on I-80. The developer is Woodmont Properties based in Fairfield. The firm said the new complex is convenient to retail and transportation options such as an NJ Transit station. It is expected to be completed by January 2016.

ALLIANCE ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR DISTINGUISHED ENGINEERING AWARDSThe New Jersey Alliance for Action is accepting nominations for the third annual Distinguished Engineering Awards program. The deadline to submit nominations is Thursday, March 26. Innovative and outstanding engineering firms will be saluted on a date and site to be announced for unique projects that positively impact New Jersey's economy and environment. To enter for consideration, companies should provide the following information: Project name and short summary, including the projects goal or mission; company name and short description on why the project should be honored. The information should be sent to lschwalje@allianceforaction.com. The applications could include transportation, waste and storm water, state, county and municipal public building, private sector and other projects.

LOCAL VOTERS APPROVE $86.8 MILLION IN SCHOOL PROJECTS 
At special school construction elections in seven districts, voters approved a total of $86.8 million in projects. This was 61 percent of the ballot questions. All the projects approved qualify for state aid to cover part of the costs. In Glassboro, voters authorized two proposals of $13.8 million and $9.7 million for improvements to five schools and the administration building. Edison residents voted Yes on a $48.1 million proposal for construction of a new elementary school to replace James Monroe School destroyed by fire in March 2014. In Atlantic County, local voters in Greater Egg Harbor Regional approved a $20.3 million program to upgrade three high schools.

WORK BEGINS ON TURNPIKE 14A TOLL PLAZA 
Work began on reconstruction of the New Jersey Turnpike 14A toll plaza that is expected to bring major traffic relief to the area. The project involves rehabilitating and expanding the toll plaza from 11 to 13 lanes and replacement of a two-lane bridge with a four-lane span to move vehicles to Route 440, Route 185 and Port Jersey Boulevard. The improvements will reduce delays on the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension and relieve congestion on Bayonne and Jersey City streets. About 50,000 vehicles, including 6,000 trucks, use the 14A toll plaza on a typical weekday. Total cost of the project is estimated at $310 million, which will be toll-funded as part of the Turnpike's ten-year, $7 billion capital program. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2018.

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