Insignia/ESG Gets Exclusive for Advance's MetroCentre By Eric Peterson Last updated: Sep 9, 2002 11:15AM HARRISON, NJ-Advance Realty Group, based in Bedminster, NJ, has given the leasing exclusive for its massive MetroCentre urban redevelopment project here to Insignia/ESG. The mixed use project is expected to begin construction next spring, now that Advance has finalized its development contract with the City of Harrison. Leading the effort for IESG will be James Emden, executive managing director of the company's New York office, and Jeffrey Babikian, who holds the same title in the company's Saddle Brook, NJ office. At stake are upwards of 2.5 million sf of class A office space, and the two offices will be targeting the entire tri-state area for space users. Also planned for the first phase of MetroCentre are up to 475 new residential units, 150,000 sf of retail space and a 25,000-seat stadium that will serve as the new home of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars soccer team. The overall project is being done by a consortium of developers. "When it's completed, MetroCentre will be a 24/7 location," according to Babikian. "This development will offer prospective tenants the location, labor pool, incentives and all amenities employers require today." The 135-acre MetroCentre site is situated along the Passaic River, directly across from Newark's Penn Station rail complex. Additional phases are expected to boost the residential component to about 3,500 units, and the retail component to more than one million sf.
Good question. Has Advance actually been awarded a contract? I would think that would mean that it's a go and the ground gets broken next spring. Still that's a pretty vague press release. C in SJ
The area is getting developed whether it includes a Metro stadium or not. If AEG decides it's a no-go, it just becomes more land for residential or commercial use.
This counts for a hill of beans, but I did get a metro survey that asked something like "when the metro statdium is built in Harrison, will you continue your membership?". Again, that statement and $ 1.50 will get you on the subway, but it seemed a confident measure on their part to say "when" and not "if". Looking forward to a groudbreaking in April, one sh!te season on long island, one mother of a law suit, and a Stadium in 2004. Here's to you, Phil.
Best case scenario is new place in fall '04, which means two seasons in exile. But that assumes they're building it in the first place.
The land is being developed with or without the Metrostars. The question now is how long will the developers be willing to hold the land set aside for the stadium once construction begins on the rest of the project.