MONTVALE, N.J.—A top official of S. Hekemian Group told more than 100 business leaders at a Montvale Chamber of Commerce forum Feb. 4 that the first three buildings creating a major commercial and retail center at the former Mercedes-Benz site—known as North Market—are under construction.
Peter Hekemian, senior managing director of S. Hekemian Group, said that at least three new buildings are in progress on the site, opposite the successful Shoppes at DePiero Farm, another S. Hekemian Group project that opened in 2017.
Hekemian spoke at the Montvale Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 Regional Kick-Off Event held at KPMG in Montvale.
The new mixed-use development combines not only office and retail, but also luxury multi-family residential and a boutique hotel.
The community is promoted as “a true mixed-use urban neighborhood in suburban environs.”
A North Market site plan online shows Building One with 10,000 square feet of retail space and 156 apartments; Building Two includes 11,500 square feet of retail space, up to 40,500 square feet of office space and a large outdoor plaza; Building Three offers 10,500 square feet of retail space and 156 apartments.
Buildings Four and five comprise up to 40,000 square feet of retail and office space that can be built to suit its tenants. Building Six comprises a 150-room boutique hotel, expected to be a Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
A brochure describes North Market as “walkable city-like retail across unique buildings” that provides “a neighborhood of eateries, experiences, shopping, and lifestyle services that is unparalleled in the region.”
The North Market development is easily accessible from exit 172 of the Garden State Parkway. Within the immediate area of North Market lies nearly 3 million square feet of office space and corporate headquarters including KPMG, BMW, Benjamin Moore, Sony and Sharp Electronics.
Hekemian said that Beattie Padovano LLC, at 50 Chestnut Ridge Road, will lease 20,000 square feet at North Market. The space is at Workplace North Market, a 52,000 square-foot mixed-use office and retail building at 200 N. Market Street in the district.
“You have the first three buildings which we’re starting now, we just started putting up the steel for the office building,” where Beattie Padovano leased, he said.
Hekemian said the building was expected to open in December.
“It would be a really really neat situation if we could pull that off,” he said of the combined theater-restaurant and office use.
When combined with 231,000 square feet of existing retail at The Shoppes at DePiero Farm, the North Market’s additional 71,500 square feet of retail bring The S. Hekemian Group’s total amount of retail space to 302,500 square feet, plus more than 300 residential units and more than 91,000 square feet of office space.
Hekemian thanked the borough and noted it had been a while since S. Hekemian Group first consulted with the DePiero family.
“That was 11 years ago. We’re still here still building and starting projects,” said Hekemian.
He cited the borough for being “flexible…and always embraced interesting ideas.”
He said they were working on three leases for restaurants at North Market, including a California-based restaurant and a steak house.
He said they’ve “done a lot of road improvements” to make Shoppes at DePiero Farm easily accessible for shoppers and residents.
To provide an overview of North Market’s coming development, Hekemian showed a short video highlighting planned buildings, amenities and features.
‘A sense of neighborhood’
Speaking of Shoppes at DePiero Farm and the under-development North Market District at the former Mercedes site, Hekemian said “what we’re trying to do here is create…a sense of neighborhood that you maybe don’t always get in the suburbs,” he said.
Hekemian said both sites are about 60 acres. The Shoppes at DePiero Farm, anchored by North Jersey’s first Wegmans supermarket, which opened in 2017, is 100 percent leased.
He said “We’re pretty much full” at the Shoppes at DePiero Farm and spoke of pending tenants.
He said a salad place called Chopped will be coming in July. A 3,500-square foot Lululemon store that could serve as “an anchor” for other fashion apparel and lifestyle tenants will open in late summer, Hekemian said.
Other future tenants include City M.D., First Watch: The Daytime Cafe, and Vitamin Shoppe. He said “another phase” behind Wegmans yet to be presented or approved includes two tenants, one a pre-kindergarten company and a local business relocation.
Following up on Hekemian’s presentation, Planning Board Chair John DePinto, who served as chair for 35 years and 42 years on the board, said Montvale has “always been known as the pride of the Pascack Valley” and noted with corporate partners such as KPMG, S. Hekemian and other corporations, “we are the envy of the northern portion of Bergen County and we are very proud of it,” he said.
“I’m very proud of the role I’ve played in the development of Montvale over the last 42 years,” said DePinto. He said a former mayor from a Bergen County town asked him if Montvale might “slip her a few of our ratables” and he said that would not be done.
“We’re a little piggy that way, we keep all our ratables in Montvale,” said DePinto. “I love the fact that my property taxes are among the lowest in the area. Thank you, corporations and businesses,” said DePinto.
DePinto said as the farms left the area, Montvale succeeded by taking “a proactive position” in working with developers.
“We said, ‘What can we do cooperatively with the developers?’ We can [help] through our zoning and planning [to] project for the future,” he said.
DePinto said years ago International Business Machines (IBM) was a major corporate presence with 700,000 square foot of office space in Montvale and when IBM left, “Guess what happened? BMW came to town and they took over a number of the properties.”
He said similar change occurred when A&P left and he noted he “takes the greatest pride” from working to assist Memorial Sloan-Kettering to establish a research and outpatient cancer facility in Montvale.
He said the facility employs 400 people and treats up to 400 cancer patients on an outpatient basis.
He said with help from borough Land Use Administrator Lorraine Hutter he was able to put together approvals needed for Sloan Kettering to locate in town.
Mayor Michael Ghassali said in the last four years, 115 new businesses and 4,000 new jobs have come to Montvale.
He said about 25,000 people come to work in Montvale during a typical business day.
He said businesses come to Montvale because “financially, the town is very stable.” On reducing property taxes for a third year in a row, Ghassali said he “hopes we do it.”
Chamber officials said a second job fair for professionals—following up on well-attended job fair in 2019—would be held in late spring or summer. (For more, see “Montvale’s First Job Fair Draws 500; More Fairs are Promised,” Nov. 11, 2019.)