Devco spends $1.6 billion since 1970s

If you're counting the bottom line, the New Brunswick Development Corporation has invested more than $1.6 billion into the city since its inception in the 1970s.

But in terms of long-term impact, the nonprofit urban redeveloper also known as Devco is responsible for many of the city's most well known institutions.

Begun in the mid-70s by founders in New Brunswick's medical and University community, Devco's projects span from governmental - such as the Middlesex County Courthouse - to residential building Rockoff Hall, retail market Liberty Plaza, and medical center the Child Health Institute of New Jersey.

"The main reason why we've had such a big hand in the city's development is that we build exclusively in New Brunswick, and have been for more than 25 years," said Chris Paladino, Devco president. "Also we've taken risks in the past, and stepped up to more challenging projects."

City spokesman Bill Bray agrees.

"What you have to realize is that the reason why Devco's projects have such longevity and prominence in the city is because Devco has been here since the beginning," he said.

When Devco was created in the '70s, nobody wanted to build in an urban area like New Brunswick, Bray said.

"Without the revitalization they've caused here, the city wouldn't have the opportunity to work with private developers - they wouldn't be interested," Bray said. "Devco has blazed a trail for us."

Each project begins with an idea or a perceived need in the city. From there, the first factors considered are location and financing. After the city approves the project and the City Council designates Devco as the developer for the new plan, the building is designed and finally built with the help of a construction company.

"The amount of control that we have over the construction of a project varies on a case by case basis," Paladino said. "But we do see the project every day, whether it is through weekly construction meetings or having a consultant monitor."

A typical project will take two to three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete.

Devco doesn't just oversee development. "We do non-revenue things, public policy concerns, that a for-profit developer wouldn't do," Paladino said. "If we build a courthouse, we also build the parking garage and make sure that a nearby college can still have night school in the building. We take a more holistic view than the private development sector."

However the development process is sometimes difficult and controversial. Throughout the years, Devco was met with heavy criticism for the relocation of local businesses and homes.

"There are things that you run into when developing a city that you wouldn't have in a rural area," Paladino said. "We have to be very respectful and sensitive to the fact that these are people's livelihoods that we're dealing with. That is usually the most emotional and time-consuming aspect of this job."

The process is also often frustratingly slow-moving, because of the necessary state and government permission that must be acquired.

"When it comes to the building delays, people need to look at the long term and not just the present," Bray said. "These projects have so much potential for the future, and once they are completed and in use, it will have been worth the wait."

At the moment, Heldrich Plaza, set to open February 2007, is the most significant commercial development for the corporation. The hotel and conference center will create 2,000 construction jobs and more than 300 permanent jobs.

"That's a really rewarding part of the work that Devco does," Paladino said. "Not only are we creating a building that will revitalize a city block, we're putting people to work."

Devco is also beginning development on The Gateway Center at Easton Avenue, a site that would house a large upscale University bookstore, café, residential apartments, the University Press, the Rutgers Visitors Center and the Alumni Club.

The major goal of the project is for the site to create a direct link between the train station and the University campus, which would be achieved through a pedestrian street connecting to the train station platform.

"Our vision is that you'd be able to get off the train, walk down to College Avenue and catch a bus to the Douglass campus, all very easily," said Paladino.

However, longtime local businesses such as Neubies and New Jersey Books would vanish under The Gateway Center.

New Jersey Books is in litigation, contesting the city's redevelopment designation. Both businesses would like to remain and say the plan is unfair.

Devco has other projects on its plate.

"We're in the early development stages of a research tower that would house the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey, across from the Cancer Institute," Paladino said. "I'd say that that's definitely our most promising project not only for our city, but for New Jersey."

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