The redevelopment of the former New Millennium Bank building at 57 Livingston Avenue in downtown New Brunswick to a 33-story high-rise recently reached a significant milestone as the city council voted to support the project, which may clear the way for additional funding from Trenton to be funneled into new construction in the city. The endorsement, a formal letter of support for the redevelopment, will allow the developer to apply for a grant program from the state’s Economic Development Agency before the city makes any plans public.
Members of the city council voted on the resolution to endorse the project, located at the corner of Livingston and New streets, on February 4, despite the developer, LM New Brunswick Urban Renewal LLC, not having submitted any plans to the city’s planning board or city council. The legislative body has also not even formalized a redevelopment agreement to designate a developer for the project.
A representative working for LM New Brunswick, which is affiliated with Piscataway-based Edgewood Properties, said that the project will span 33 stories with 450 apartments and 39,000 square feet of retail space. Approximately 20% of the apartments, 90 units, will be set aside for affordable housing. There are no additional details about the project.
An entry from the Middlesex County Tax Board states that the property at 57 Livingston is a 1-acre lot developed in 1996. The board’s property assessment search hub says that the lot is owned by an LLC based in East Brunswick at 540 Cranbury Road. The building itself spans 10,950 square feet, while the lot has an assessed value of $5.5 million.
Records from the Middlesex County Clerk’s office show that LM New Brunswick Urban Renewal owns the adjacent lot at 8 Drift Street. That property was sold in April 2024 for $425,000 by a limited liability firm affiliated with DeWayne Chin of Fortress Investment Group.
Charlie Kratovil, the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, inquired about the lack of involvement from planning and the city’s housing authority before the city council chose to endorse the project. Attorneys representing the developer and the city council’s attorney responded that this is only the first step to determine whether the project actually qualifies for an Aspire grant from the EDA. Council President Manuel Castaneda added that members of the public will have the opportunity to weigh in on the merits of the project after the city council’s endorsement.
While the council’s resolution could unlock significant state funding for the developer, it was approved without any public disclosure or input on the project itself. Records from the county clerk’s office and tax board show that the LLC, which secured the letter of endorsement, does not own the bank building at 57 Livingston Avenue. That discrepancy suggests that key deals are still being worked out behind the scenes, leaving the public in the dark about a project that may become one of the tallest in the city.
