New Brunswick Theater District to Get $275M Overhaul
From NJBiz:
The New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) plans to build a new $50 million performing arts center that will be the centerpiece of a $275 million, 600,000-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment project in the city’s downtown theater district.
The structure, slated to open in 2012, will become the city’s tallest building at 34 stories, or 350 feet, and will also comprise an office and condominium tower that will be built above the arts space.
The office and residential components of the building are expected to bring between 750 and 1,000 new jobs and 200 new residents, according to Chris Paladino, Devco’s president. Other features of the project include 11,000 square feet of retail space, an underground parking garage and upgrades to the State Theatre, which will connect to the new arts center via a 12,500-square-foot interior galleria.
The project is geared toward significantly increasing arts-related revenue in the city, he adds. “We start on the premise that if we could provide state-of-the-art performance venues, we can increase the audiences that come to New Brunswick by 40,000 to 80,000 people a year,” says Paladino.
The arts have been significant in promoting economic development in New Brunswick, he notes. In 2005, the city’s nonprofit arts organizations had an economic impact of more than $36.5 million and supported more than 870 jobs, according to Americans for the Arts, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group.
The performing arts center, set to occupy the first two floors of the building, will be built on the current sites of the George Street Playhouse and Crossroads Theatre on Livingston Avenue. The two theater companies, as well as Mason Gross School of the Arts and the American Repertory Ballet, will utilize the new space, says Paladino.
