$500 Million Transit-oriented Development Breaks Ground in East Orange

On Nov 28, 2022

Triangle Equities, along with investment partners Goldman Sachs and Basis Investment Group and co-developer partner Incline Capital, held a formal ceremony today marking the official groundbreaking of The Crossings at Brick Church Station, the owner/developer’s new $500 million transit-oriented mixed-use development, which is the largest-ever real estate development in East Orange.

The ground-up project at 533 Main Street will be built in two phases, delivering approximately 200,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and commercial space, a pedestrian promenade & public plaza, 820 mixed-income rental units, and a 1,200-space parking garage. Replacing the former Brick Church Plaza, the project will include a nine-story and a five-story building. March Associates Construction, Inc. will serve as the construction manager and general contractor.

Just a 25-minute train ride via NJ Transit to Midtown Manhattan and anchored by a new Shoprite, the first phase of The Crossings is scheduled for completion in Q4 2024. More than 85% of the retail space in the first phase is already pre-leased.

“I want to thank Gov. Murphy, Lt. Governor Oliver, Mayor Ted Green, and City Council Chairman Christopher Awe for their support and for welcoming The Crossings at Brick Church into this great community,” said Lester Petracca, president of Triangle Equities. “We also appreciate the tremendous support that we received from our investment partners Goldman Sachs and Basis Investment Group illustrating what it takes to make these challenging projects become a reality. We are looking forward to building a project that we believe will be a catalyst for the redevelopment of this area and provide amenities to a deserving community.”

“New Jersey is the State of Opportunity, and it’s fitting that this new development will open here in East Orange, one of our state’s Opportunity Zones,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “The Crossings at Brick Church Station will provide residents the opportunity to find an affordable place to call home and a good-paying new job, as well as access to even greater healthy foods options and public transportation options. I applaud the leadership of Triangle Equities, and the partnership of the City of East Orange, Basis Investment Group, Goldman Sachs, and PNC for making this historic investment in the community of East Orange.”

“This project is one of the largest and most transformative projects that East Orange has ever seen,” said Mayor Ted R. Green. “Having served as Third Ward Councilman and now as Mayor, I have ambitiously advocated for a public-private partnership like the one we have with Triangle Equities. The Crossings at Brick Church Station will spark vibrancy in our city and help us to leverage our existing assets—diversity, proximity and convenience—with modern amenities designed to increase the livability of our community and revitalize our local economy.”

Mayor Green also referred to an urban design term called “cityness” that describes how cities remake their downtowns into hubs for economic and social activity.

“The Crossings, right in the heart of our Transit Village, will bring the cityness back to East Orange, raise our property values, spur additional investment, and essentially improve the city’s overall fiscal and social health,” Mayor Green added. “The ripple effect of this project will certainly be felt by future generations as it opens up doors for more jobs, entrepreneurship, quality mixed-income housing, new retail and shopping, and a common place for people to meet and experience the best of East Orange.”

As long-term holders who plan to be a part of the Brick Church community for decades to come, Petracca further noted that since acquiring the first site in the assemblage, Triangle’s vision for this project has been to create a development that will not only provide quality fresh foods, restaurants, retail amenities and mixed-income housing to the City of East Orange, but to create a transformative economic and community development project for a community that has been underserved for decades.

“By successfully leveraging New Markets Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Redevelopment Area Bond and other financing tools, we were able to make the project financially feasible and creatively structure a public private partnership with the City of East Orange,” Petracca added. “We believe this project will be a catalyst for the transformation of the Main Street corridor in tandem with revitalization of the Brick Church Train Station and other main street revitalization efforts by the City. We are thrilled to work on this transformative project with such great partners.”

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