The 1 Washington Park office tower is located at the intersection of Washington, Broad and Orange streets at the gateway of Newark’s North Broad Street quad, encompassing the Newark Broad Street station, the Bears and Eagles Riverfront stadium, historic James Street, the Newark Museum, the Newark Public Library, Washington Park and major commercial high-rises.

Fidelco purchased 1 Washington Park in 2004 when it was a near-empty building, and since that time has transformed the structure into a fully modernized class A office space, featuring a new two-story glass-enclosed lobby entrance. Other elements of the $11-million renovation include refurbishment of the building’s common areas, and amenity upgrades such as a full-service concierge, 24-hour security, a high-tech conference center and upscale food service and convenience retail on the ground level. The building is also home to Rutgers University’s Business School, which opened its doors in the fall of 2009 complete with a new glass pavilion entryway featuring a scrolling news ticker along with new offices, classroom space, lecture halls and student lounges. On top of the two-story entry pavilion is a rooftop sustainable garden.

Fidelco also owns 494 Broad St., which is across the street. The building was also purchased almost empty, but it is filled today, led by the Genova, Burns law firm, which has two of the five floors. According to Berson, the company hopes to announce some additional projects in the next few months, including more office space, retail, structured parking and residential units--all on the north end of Newark. Fidelco was also designated redeveloper by the city on Orange Street where it hopes to focus on retail development. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Institute of Technology is in charge of developing the so-called gateway project on Martin Luther King Boulevard. And the Newark Museum has a $150-million development program that it plans tot get started on very shortly.