NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. | The Hub @ New Brunswick Station | (3 Towers) | FLOORS

[MrVenaCava]

Revealed: New Brunswick Transit Village’s Latest Expansion

BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON JUNE 5TH 2014 AT 6:30 AM

New Brunswick Transit Village

A tipster sent along renderings for a project slightly removed from the core of the New York region, but nonetheless impressive; the new buildings will add to the New Brunswick Transit Village, which has been gradually evolving into a high-density and mixed-use neighborhood over the past several years. DEVCO is the developer, and the architect is unnamed.

The third phase of the Transit Village will deliver one million square feet of office space, over 500 residences, and 100,000 square feet of street-front retail. Previous work has been significantly more subdued in scope, though another 23-story tower was recently completed.

While more in-depth views of the Transit Village’s interwoven pedestrian passageways are missing, the two overview shots are promising, as is the mix of uses. Given Rutgers’ significant presence, the city has potential to expand further, as a vibrant and urban node that caters to both students and professionals while also evolving as a vertical campus.

Most developments in New Brunswick have large parking components, which detract from overall aesthetics, but are necessary given the lack of comprehensive local public transit. As its population continues to increase, the growth of the revitalized Downtown area should create a need for more car-free options, resulting in a feedback loop that could ultimately foster more density with less parking.

New Brunswick Transit Village

Still, the renderings of the Transit Village’s latest phase are promising, and the development will have a significant positive impact on its surrounds. Parking will be concealed away from the pedestrian sphere, and ground floor retail will be augmented with sidewalks both adjacent and above, creating additional open space for office workers.

New Brunswick Transit Village

As a college town, New Brunswick has potential that other peripheral nodes do not; if growth can build on the city’s proximity to New York and access to the human capital at Rutgers, then a walkable, vibrant, and desirable Downtown will continue to sprout. The expansion of the ‘Transit Village’ is an important step in the right direction — and with ‘critical mass’ likely imminent, the project may ultimately result in other new developments springing up nearby.

[chris08876]

Some renderings. Also, this project does include a 24 story building. The overall bigger picture along with the expansion in the post above. This is the largest project happening in New Brunswick at the moment.

Notice the improvements to the streetscape.

Source: New Brunswick Transit Village, New Brunswick, NJ | EE&K a Perkins Eastman Company

[MrVenaCava]

Awesome stuff going on in New Brunswick! That 24-story (dorm?) building is completed and looks massive – I was down there earlier this year looking at Rutgers. They completed that pedestrian connecter that bridges over Wall Street, also.

GMAPS Fall 2013:

.

.

[chris08876]

Yes it does look awesome and I think there is quite a cool smoke shop near it. I remember passing by it. The whole project has been quite a long time in the making. Phase 3 should really add some density to the area.

I think the tower is just a residential. I attended Rutgers and I don’t believe that was a dorm belonging to the university. Although the location is convenient, especially if one commutes to the city.

[MrVenaCava]

New Look: KPF Designing The Hub, in New Brunswick, N.J.

BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON DECEMBER 8TH 2014 AT 7:00 AM

The Hub, image by KPF

Earlier this year, YIMBY gave you an early look at plans for a large new mixed-use complex in New Brunswick. The site may be 36 miles from Manhattan, but it sits right across the street from the town’s main train station, with New Jersey Transit and Amtrak offering service to Penn Station.

And now, we have fresh renderings of the plan for The Hub, which Kohn Pedersen Fox is designing. To date, high-rise development in New Brunswick has been dominated by budget and auto-oriented design, but The Hub breaks from this phenomenon, both in terms of format and appearance.

Standard new towers in New Brunswick are typically situated atop large parking podiums, with bland facades and awkward massing. While the infill development is still a net positive for the city, a more urban-friendly approach is required if the city is to live up to its full potential.

Two approximately 300-foot tall towers rise from a podium that includes retail space, and the 1.7 million square foot project can be adapted to suit the needs of office, tech, or academic tenants. The shorter tower will be residential.

The project is being developed by the New Brunswick Development Corp., a partnership between government and the city’s largest employers (including Johnson & Johnson and Rutgers University’s flagship campus), which is the driving force behind development downtown.

The Hub, image by KPF

In a press release, Devco’s larger downtown redevelopment scheme is described:

The Hub at New Brunswick Station is the third phase of Devco’s transit-oriented development. In early 2012, the firm completed Gateway Transit Village, a 632,000-square-foot, mixed-use tower at Easton Avenue and Somerset Street. Gateway Transit Village includes 192 residential units, 57,000 square feet of retail, including a full-scale Barnes & Noble serving as the Rutgers University Book Store, 55,000 square feet of office space, and a 657-space parking garage.

In late 2012, Devco completed the 612,000-square-foot Wellness Plaza which includes a full-service supermarket, a state-of-the-art fitness and wellness centre and a 1,200 space parking facility on the upper levels. Soon, a pedestrian bridge will link Wellness Plaza to the New Brunswick Train Station.

While the skyline presence of the development will be significant for a city of New Brunswick’s scale, the street-level impact of The Hub will be what’s most important. The project sits on a huge plot of land, and plans include streets and passageways interwoven between the new buildings; a press release says the site takes “cues from a few of its predecessors – the Uffizi pedestrian street in Florence, the street-side cafés of Paris, and Spanish canopied courtyards.”

New Brunswick remains a long ways away from legitimate comparisons to Florence and Paris, but large infill projects like The Hub are crucial if the city’s downtown is to transform into a vibrant and walkable node. And given its location, ease of access to New York City, and college town-demographics, New Brunswick has every reason to densify sooner rather than later — taking advantage of its abundance of human capital through thoughtful long-term planning rather than choking it off by way of restrictive zoning, like New York City.

[Waymond_Womano]

http://www.thehubnewbrunswick.com/live-camera.html

[chris08876]

Looks like some workers.

Large resolution

[chris08876]

I stopped by this site this morning, after a night of fun, and there is excavation occurring. No visible steel noticeable. Site is huge. Hopefully come summer time, this should kick off.

[baronson]

Love seeing NB updates here. So much has changed in the city and the Rutgers campus since I’ve been there.

[chris08876]

Pic by me. Taken today.

Still no action.

The Hub at New Brunswick Station - 03-20-2021 by Christopher Estevez, on Flickr

[YIMHudson]

Plans Unveiled for Phase 2 of Life Sciences and Technology Development in New...

SJP Properties and New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) have unveiled plans to develop H-2, the second phase of HELIX Health + Life Science Exchange in downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey. With a total cost of $731 million, HELIX is the largest investment in life sciences and medical education in New Jersey’s history, and representative of the state’s life sciences sector and demand for accessible lab space. Plans for H-2 call for a mixed-use building yielding 600,000 square feet of build-to-suit lab and office space. HDR is the lead architect and JLL will serve as the H-2’s leasing agent.

[chris08876]

Pic by me. Taken Friday.

[GentriVacation]

I didn’t realize there was a thread for this project but I took this pic about 10 days ago:

[chris08876]

I haven’t been to NB in a while and I was like WTF, this is big!

Yeah it is one of those under the radar projects. I even forgot about it, which is sad because I’m in Highland Park like every other week. Just a matter of “driving” over the bridge versus River Road.

NB is seeing some growth though, which is good. Like Newark, a somewhat large proxy city. The university presence helps, with some dorms being build over on Easton Ave.

Really with the rail node that it is, its bound to see more growth. Midtown Manhattan in less than 50 minutes. good deal overall (sometimes shorter).

[GentriVacation]

They’re also completely renovating the train station: How The Renovated New Brunswick Train Station Will Look | New Brunswick, NJ Patch

[GentriVacation]

Got this pic yesterday from the rooftop of another nearby building.

Btw, this project isn’t really called “The Hub” anymore. It’s called “The Helix” and each tower is known as H1, H2, and H3. The one that’s currently rising is H1.