Opportunity Triangle Complete, Perimeter Development Underway

It was a weekend where the plan started to come together. In March, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) basketball tournament was held at the Sovereign Bank Arena. Spectators and participants at the conference spent the weekend, plus there was a convention, and that meant the downtown Trenton

"Two years ago, we would have had to put them on Route 1," said Matt Bergheiser, executive director of the Trenton Down town Association. "Instead, we got hundreds of people to stay in Trenton overnight."

"Trenton is definitely on the move," said Herbert K. Ames, director of economic development for Mercer County. "All the pieces are starting to come together."

The "Opportunity Triangle" has been the anchor of the planned revitalization of Trenton. The Waterfront Park baseball stadium, home of the Trenton Thunder, the Sovereign Bank Arena, and the downtown Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard Hotel have proven to be key ingredients in not only turning around the perception of Trenton, but in increasing overall interest in Mercer County.

"I think what we've done is changed the perception that people have of urban areas," said Steven J. Dixon, executive director of the Mercer County Improvement Authority. "A lot of people think urban areas are not safe, but what we've been able to show is that we have two facilities that bring in a half million people each year, with no problems. People are now saying that they didn't recognize this was Trenton. Now they've got a reason to be here, and they find out it's a nice place to come."

The newest leg of the triangle is the Trenton Marriott Hotel, which according to Bergheiser, "is going extremely well, in terms of occupancy and events."

To help increase foot traffic in Trenton particularly among families arid after work, "First Fridays" were created. "First Fridays" are designed as entertainment theme events to bring people downtown. In April, it was movie night, and Oscar-nominated documentary short films were featured. In May, the theme will be baseball, to tie into Waterfront Park, and will include baseball events, trivia contests, and vendors.

"There will be a mix of events, familyevents and adult-oriented events, in the interest of lengthening the work day and keeping folks downtown in the evening after work," Bergheiser said.

Bergheiser said that a number of projects are in the works, including new mixed use parking decks, which will include retail and entertainment businesses on the ground floor.

"I think it has impacted surrounding areas in ways that are not yet tangible, but still will be," Bergheiser said, adding that there has been an increased interest in the downtown, particularly for properties for sale in the hotel district.

"I think it has truly been an anchor," Bergheiser said. "I think that when people think of Trenton, they think of the exciting things going on in town, the arena, waterfront stadium, and the hotel. It improves the perception and gets people into Trenton who otherwise wouldn't be here."

The three properties reinforce each other, Ames said. The Trenton hotel, for example, played a major role in assisting Mercer County and the arena in securing the MAAC tournament. As a result of that successful collaboration, the staffs of the hotel, arena, and baseball stadium have also worked together to bring other events to Mercer County.

The three facilities have also spurred interest from other businesses that are showing an interest in locating in Mercer County.

"It has given us a selling point," Dixon said. "It is much simpler to say how would you like to be close to a facility that brings 6,000 people to your door, instead of saying 'Visualize this! There are not many

visionaries out there."

"We're really positioning ourselves to be the strongest county in the state of New Jersey," Ames added, noting recent business additions such as Mercedes Benz, Home Depot, and Manex Entertainment. "It's a lot of fun things that are happening, a lot of creativity and thinking outside the box. It's great to have people knocking on your door."

But the "Opportunity Triangle" may be just the beginning.

Two new projects, Arena Plaza and the South Broad Street Village, are designed to make dramatic improvements in the capital city.

"I have personally had people and businesses come to me very interested in those projects," Ames said, speaking of the Arena Plaza and South Broad Street Village projects. "That's a great sign."

Arena Plaza, to be built by Keating Development Corp., will be located at the corner of South Broad and Hamilton and will extend to Route 129, will feature 150,000 square feet of office space, with ground floor retail, a 900-car parking garage, a sports bar created from an abandoned factory building, and a new YMCA. Groundbreaking on the office building is expected this summer, Dixon said.

The South Broad Street Village project, which is being done by the Mercer 1 County Improvement Authority and Performa Entertainment Real Estate, will replace the abandoned Apex Lumber Mart facility and adjacent parking lots. It will include about 5 acres of residential housing; restaurants and night clubs; 20,000 square feet of residential retail stores, which include stores such as dry cleaners, pharmacies, and craft stores; and 100,000 square feet of commercial retail, to include a combination of both new construction and rehabilitation of existing buildings. The housing will include a mix of town homes and multi-family housing units. It will be built within the borders of South Broad Street, Route 129, Cass Street and Hudson Street The project is expected to break ground this summer.

"This is Phase 1 of the revitalization of south Trenton," Dixon said. "This is a small but important step in the redevelopment of south Trenton. We're hoping this has a ripple effect."

The village will surround the Cass Street stop of the Southern New Jersey Light Rail Transit System, which when it is completed this year, will take people to the Trenton train station, or south to Camden. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., along with Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., are seeking federal funding for a downtown trolley service inside Trenton, to transport people from the train station to the hotel, the Statehouse, and to South Broad Street Village, In the interim, Dixon said, the county is working with the city on a new jitney or bus system to operate throughout the downtown.

"It will basically be an entertainment district transit village, meaning that when we get finished a car will not be necessary," Dixon said.

The target market for the housing will be singles and young married couples that work for the state, along with empty nesters.

Two or three years ago, the city, county and Mercer County Improvement Authority agreed to work together and divided up the areas of responsibilities: the county a and improvement authority took responsibility for the arena and stadium areas, the city for the train station and the hotel. They are working on a planning study to continue the redevelopment of the area from Cass Street to the baseball stadium. Along Cass Street and South Broad Street, more streetscapes will be evident, with new streetlights and trees.

"We're looking to fill in the opportunity triangle," Dixon said. "We're starting around the edges... and expanding out, and before you know it, the interior will be filled in. The hope then is that the private marketplace takes over. I'd love it if they put me out of a job."