The New Brunswick Wellness Plaza project got a boost Thursday when $30.5 million in New Market Tax Credit financing was announced.
Developers Pennrose Properties LLC and New Brunswick Development Corp. announced the financing from Wells Fargo Community Development Enterprises, WNC National Community Advisors, Empowerment Reinvestment Fund and Cityscape Capital Group.
“Wellness Plaza is a prime example of why the NMTC program was created. The NMTC investment in the project will make possible a host of services and community benefits that would otherwise be unachievable in downtown New Brunswick,” Devco President Christopher Paladino said in the announcement.
The project is expected to be complete by October 2012, and will include a 49,000-square-foot supermarket operated by Fresh Grocer, the first in New Brunswick in many years, as well as a Robert Wood Johnson Fitness and Wellness Center. The New Brunswick Parking Authority will manage the 1,275 parking spots also being made available through the project.
Tim Henkel, senior vice president of Pennrose, said the financing ensures completion of the major projects in the plaza. Henkel said the interest in solving a so-called “food desert” in New Brunswick helped garner interest from a large group of financial backers for the highly sought-after NMTC.
Calls to Devco seeking additional comment were not returned before publication.
