The idea of a transit-oriented development really isn’t new — just look at Brick Church Station in East Orange, N.J., which began when a local lawyer decided to build a depot near a pioneering rail line that launched in the first half of the 19th century.
In the 21st century, that location will be home to The Crossings at Brick Church Station, a $500 million live/work/play/shop destination now being developed by Triangle Equities and Incline Capital directly adjacent to the much more modern station.
“From the beginning, Triangle’s vision for The Crossings at Brick Church was rooted in placemaking — creating a true neighborhood center that gives East Orange residents a reason to live, shop and invest in their own community rather than driving to the next town,” said Josh Weingarten, executive vice president at Triangle Equities. “Working alongside [East Orange] Mayor [Ted] Green and our project partners, we’ve assembled a curated mix of retail, dining and housing that functions as a single, cohesive place. This means not only developing retail space but ensuring that more dollars are earned and spent inside this community, ultimately leading to larger economic growth for the city. We believe this project can serve as a blueprint for transit-oriented placemaking in cities across the country.”
Rail service through East Orange began in 1836 as the Morris and Essex Railroad. Matthias Ogden Halsted, a local lawyer who used the railroad to get to New York City, provided a station for commuters. A new depot was built in 1880 and used until the current station opened on December 18, 1921, after the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad elevated the tracks. The station is named for the nearby Temple of Unified Christians Brick Church, which was designed with brick architecture. The brick headhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Crossings at Brick Church Station will transform a single train stop into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood center for downtown East Orange, ultimately delivering approximately 1,000 new residences, co-working spaces and over 200,000 square feet of retail. Situated directly at NJ Transit’s Brick Church Station, which is just 25 minutes from Midtown Manhattan, the development offers regional connectivity while also serving as a long-term catalyst for economic investment and community development in East Orange.
At the project’s heart is a central promenade, which serves as a connector between Main Street and Brick Church Station, said Bohler Engineering, which is providing land development consulting, site design and landscape architecture for the project. The pedestrian-oriented space, which will feature decorative pavers, brick-clad seatwalls, shade trees and ornamental lighting, can be adapted into a public space for farmers’ markets, art displays and street vendors.
All will contribute to keeping retail dollars in a city that has been losing them to its neighbors for decades. An analysis by The City of East Orange’s Office of Policy, Planning & Development found that the city was losing more than $1.4 billion in local consumer spending to surrounding regions due to a lack of retail options.
Nearly 75,000 square feet of retail was recently signed to The Crossings, including Burlington, which will occupy a 48,900-square-foot space; specialty discount store Five Below, occupying 9,600 square feet; women’s clothing store, Rainbow, which is taking 6,400 square feet and Verizon, which will occupy 1,424 square feet. Healthcare provider Newark Community Health Center and Angel Nails will occupy 4,500 square feet and 3,400 square feet, respectively. All of the deals were brokered by Jake Frantzman, a vice president of Ripco Real Estate, the project’s commercial leasing partner.
“The Crossings at Brick Church Station sits at the intersection of great highway and transit access, population density and pent-up retail demand — exactly the fundamentals strong tenants look for,” Frantzman said. “We’re thrilled with the lineup we’ve assembled and the momentum this project is carrying into its next phase.”
They join a previously announced Shoprite supermarket, which will anchor the retail. ShopRite has operated on this site for a number of years and will remain operational at its current location until its new home is complete this summer. The new ShopRite location will include an additional 10,000 square feet of shopping space as well as a larger offering of fresh produce and additional features set to improve shoppers’ experience and access to healthy food options. Other existing tenants at The Crossings at Brick Church Station include Dunkin’ Donuts and Rita’s Italian Ice.
In addition to providing shopping, healthcare and housing options to residents of East Orange, the slew of new retailers will also generate job opportunities and economic impact. In partnership with The Office of Mayor Ted Green, Triangle Equities is working with all retailers located at The Crossings at Brick Church to prioritize hiring local talent.
In tandem with ensuring that the new job openings are prioritized for local residents, Triangle Equities has also partnered with The Mayor’s Office to develop the East Orange Career Accelerator (EOCA), a program designed to assist local residents in getting job opportunities. EOCA takes a three-prong approach to job skill training offering soft skill development, interview prep and resume review.
“Programs like EOCA are critical for the economic development of the city, and as we catalyze these opportunities for local residents, we must also ensure that those jobs are prioritized for our constituents,” said Mayor Green. “We are proud to partner with Triangle Equities and look forward to utilizing this program to ensure our workforce is properly trained to compete in the modern job market. We hope to use our partnership with Triangle Equities as a framework to expand on this program going forward.”
The development has been recognized by the Northern New Jersey Chapter of The Urban Land Institute, which awarded the project the organization’s first Transit-Oriented Development Award, as well as from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association, which awarded the project its Outstanding Project Award.
