25 Market Street

Summarize the project's program, features and achievements?

The Elmwood Park project is a recently completed speculative warehouse building covering over 208,000 square feet. It is located just north of I-80 and east of the Passaic River within the Borough of Elmwood Park, New Jersey. The facility is situated on the site where the locally famous Marcal Paper Company building once stood before the devastating fire in 2019 destroyed the building, its famous sign, and the gateway to the Borough of Elmwood Park.

The new building mixes historic forms and details taken from the Marcal Paper Company building with modern materials like insulated concrete tilt-up panels, thin brick and Kalwall translucent panels. While the use of thin brick on tilt-up panels is not common in warehouse construction for this particular project it was more than appropriate. The Developer and Architectural teams understood the importance of the former building that occupied this site and wanted to bring a bit of its' character back to life for the Borough, presenting the building as a new landmark for the area paying homage to the sites, and previous building's history.

Although the current zoning regulations did not allow for a monumental roof top sign like the previous building was locally known for, the lantern-like entrance and corner features act as beacons for the township just as the historic Marcal Paper Company signage once did. The architect and lighting engineer selected fixtures to achieve an even, inviting glow for the entrance and corner lanterns. A dark band was introduced at the top of the tilt panels to relate to historic building cornice signage. Black anodized frames were used to give the new building's fenestration a similar appearance as the previous structure. The expansive translucent panels and abundance of clerestory windows provide ample natural daylighting to the spaces occupied within.

Though historic design queues were followed, the building functions as a very modern warehouse facility. The building was designed to accommodate 32 dock positions, two drive-in doors, a 60-foot speed bay, 50'x54' typical structural bays, and an interior clear height of 40 feet. It can also be subdivided into multiple users if required.

Each element, both aesthetically and functionally, creates an attractive elevation that any tenant would love to call home. This new building has revitalized the site, reestablishing the former gateway to the area, and restoring life to this important site within Elmwood Park.

What obstacles were overcome related to the schedule, budget, program, specification, site, etc. on this project?

One large challenge that affected multiple scopes was the location of the site. The site was a previous paper factory that had occupied & operated on the entire property for many years. After sub-dividing the property to create our site, the previous owners still had their paper operation in place on the other half that ran 24/7. These factors lead to us having to locate, remove, or avoid many existing utilities while ensuring no disruption to their daily operations. The electrical service feeding their property was a line of overhead poles that wrapped around our site. We had to re-route the service and now put it underground but could not make the final switch without shutting down the power & their facility. This took considerable coordination and was only able to be scheduled for a specific day far into the future. This left the live overhead electrical wires in place for the majority of the project, and we had to construct almost everything with them still there. This vastly affected our entire tilt process. By re-working the slab pour plan, panel casting plan, & erection sequence we were able to erect the entire building prior to removing the overhead wires.

Please communicate any engineering complexities or unique features of the panel design for this project?

This project's panels consisted of a unique design on the South Elevation of the building, intended to closely match the previous paper factory's iconic look, while adding in a modern feel. This included a thin-brick veneer with tumbled brick installed through an inlay system. Coinciding with a 4-way paint color profile & an arched window head design. The panels at the South elevation building corners & main entrance were also only about a quarter of the height of the overall building. This left openings in each of these areas to allow for a translucent wall panel system to be in-stalled with interior back lighting. Another unique feature of the panels on this project included the West elevation. The difference of interior to exterior final grade elevations, limited access around the building exterior for crane path, and other logistical challenges led to a change in the panel design to incorporate additional tilt panel reinforcement & slab reinforcement for almost 50% of the slab on grade.

What is the potential for this project's impact on the community and/or environment?

CHD's 25 Market Street marks a new beginning for its site, which for nine decades served as home to the iconic Marcal Paper warehouse. A fire destroyed that structure in January 2019 – taking a local landmark and hundreds of jobs with it. 

CHD credits the successful redevelopment of the 12-acre property to public/private partnership and the Borough of Elmwood Park's understanding that commercial development can serve as an economic engine for communities. “We received tremendous support for this project and shared a focus on revitalizing the area," noted CHD's Clark Machemer, senior managing director. “The resulting transformation has introduced a commercial use opportunity befitting of its trophy location – one reflective of the history of the site and surrounding area."

The project's impact is significant. The $100 million redevelopment – which supported 300 short-term construction jobs – will generate $34 million in economic activity in Bergen County. CHD estimates the site will produce an additional $630,000 in property tax payments to the county, Elmwood Park and the borough school district. Upon occupancy, the warehouse will support the equivalent of 240 full-time jobs.

Elmwood Park Mayor Robert Colletti credits CHD as a conscientious and considerate partner that has brought new revenue and beauty to his community. “All parties agreed on a comprehensive plan that included a creative building façade along with winding sidewalks, village lighting and an impressive ‘Welcome to Elmwood Park' sign," he said. “True to their word, all of this came to fruition."