Members of the New Brunswick city council recently agreed to officially endorse the $175 million office building on New Street, slated to become the new home of the Middlesex County administration.
On August 19, officials voted unanimously to grant a tax break to AST NB 1 Urban Renewal LLC, a subsidiary of Lavallette-based real estate firm AST, for the construction of an eight-story office building with an adjacent surface parking lot. AST is slated to redevelop and consolidate 14 parcels between New and Redmond streets, and deliver a 217,000-square-foot building just north of the historic Joyce Kilmer House.
A report in TAPinto New Brunswick says that Dan Dominguez, the director of the city’s Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development, said that the parcels that will be consolidated for this project are currently generating $65,000 in annual tax revenue. AST will pay approximately $1.2 million per year, he added.
A recording of the council meeting from New Brunswick Today shows that Dominguez said the $1.2 million figure reflects an annual revenue estimate based on the building’s projected performance. Dominguez also said that annual revenue could increase depending on the lease structure with the county administration, which makes the $1.2 million figure a floor rather than a definitive estimate of city revenues.
The ordinance states that the agreement will be effective for 35 years from the date the agreement is signed, or for 30 years from the date the city grants a certificate of occupancy.
The city council voted to pass the ordinance for the tax break on first reading at its first monthly meeting on August 5. That vote comes just a few months after the New Brunswick Planning Board approved a site plan application for the new office building.
Jersey Digs reported that the planning board granted a site plan approval for the building in April. Documents made public by the board state that the new building will have a footprint of approximately 27,000 square feet, while the surrounding areas will also add pedestrian sidewalks and landscaped areas. The developer did not request any variances or design waivers from the board.
The parcels that will be redeveloped used to be several office and residential buildings, but were torn down and left as a surface parking lot.
During the city council meeting on August 19, Dominguez said that the developer is looking to fulfill the terms of resolution compliance and start ‘construction efforts’ in 2026.
However, he did not clarify whether that meant construction would commence this year or if the applicant would simply commence pre-construction work on the site.
AST has a long history of large-scale development in New Brunswick. The firm’s own website shows that it completed the 15-story, 228,000-square-foot Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Ambulatory Medical Pavilion at 210 Somerset Street in May 2025.
The firm was also the developer of the 125,000-square-foot medical office building at 10 Plum Street. That project, which is leased to RWJUH, was completed in 2008 and includes a 13,000-square-foot same-day surgery center.
