Following office lease up, The Park shifts focus to next phase of development focused on building out its diverse retail tenant mix
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Connell Company, one of the largest diversified, privately held corporations in the U.S., is nearing full occupancy of Round Table (RT) Workspaces, comprised of 1.5 million square feet of office space located at The Park in Berkeley Heights. Following its $100 million capital improvement plan, which included implementing an elevated design and additional hospitality-focused amenities, the company inked over 100,000 square feet of long-term leases.
Recently, Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, and Kennedys, a major global law firm, both signed long-term leases of over 25,000 square feet at RT Workspaces, leaving their previous office spaces in other New Jersey markets. Both companies are expected to occupy their respective new spaces this year.
“At The Park, we are creating a new gold standard for East Coast office space, prioritizing a resort and lifestyle experience that is reflective of the needs of the modern worker,” said Shane Connell, Executive Vice President at The Connell Company. “Our vision for The Park is to establish a live-work-stay destination that is surrounded by an ecosystem of hospitality-driven amenity spaces, retail, and services. Our recent upgrades and rebranding of our office buildings were a key component that allowed us to fully execute our plan and enhance the tenant’s daily life.”
RT Workspace’s latest leasing activity brings its occupancy to approximately 97 percent. The campus is a popular destination for a number of top companies including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, L’Oreal, Aon, and Samsung. RT Workspaces is also home to Round Table Studios (RTS), a flexible co-working solution with access to elevated culinary, wellness, and social amenities. RTS is a membership-based workspace with approximately 560 members and 90 percent current occupancy, made up of several diverse companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals on varied membership levels.
After executing on its capital improvement plan and with strong demand in place for the remaining office space, The Connell Company is now also focusing on the next phase of the project, which includes building out the retail portion of The Park’s re-development. With 55,000 square feet of new retail concepts introduced late last year including Emberside Brewery, Rosa Azul and BASH, The Connell Company is marketing an additional 65,000 square feet of retail space to complement The District at The Park.
The Park already features an impressive lineup of national brands such as Life Time, Starbucks, and Embassy Suites Hotel. Currently under construction is a 20,000-square-foot flagship location for Bathhouse — a New York-based wellness spa offering premium recovery amenities and treatment rooms. Further activity is underway across the remaining retail areas, which are set to include a national grocer, upscale restaurants, cafés, and other lifestyle-focused retailers. These additions will further enhance the vibrant, mixed-use environment that supports The Park’s dynamic blend of living, working, and recreational experiences.
Shane Connell added: “Our vision for The Park has been to create an active, multiuse destination environment for living, working, gathering, eating and shopping. This next phase and goal is to create a dynamic, diverse mix of retailers for the walkable Main Street within The District at The Park that everyone can enjoy.”
The Park has engaged Capricorn Retail Advisors as its exclusive retail leasing consultant. Effective immediately, Capricorn Retail Advisors will oversee all retail leasing activities for the property, bringing their industry expertise and deep market knowledge to the ongoing evolution of The Park.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to curate the retail component of this new age mixed-use project,” said Larry Weinstein, Principal at New York City based Capricorn Retail Advisors. “The Park is capturing the attention of national brands and given Capricorn’s experience with ground-up developments and relationships with virtually every relevant retailer, this is a perfect match.”
To learn more about The Park and new retail leasing opportunities on the campus, please visit: theparkatnj.com/the-district-at-the-park.
To learn more about RT Workspaces and commercial office leasing opportunities, please visit: https://www.theparkatnj.com/rt-workspaces
To learn more about Round Table Studios and co-working leasing opportunities, please visit: https://roundtablestudios.com/
About Round Table Workspaces
Round Table Workspaces is a “work resort” office product consisting of 1,500,000 square feet of modernized and elevated workspaces, which include hospitality-driven amenity spaces and services, located at The Park in Berkeley Heights, NJ. Since 2019, The Connell Company has been renovating its five original office buildings with the goal of enhancing the tenant experience. With a scope and level of services and amenities which are not available anywhere else in the Northeast, RT Workspaces are dedicated to transforming the average workday for each of its tenants. To learn more about Round Table Workspaces, please visit: https://www.theparkatnj.com/round-table
About The Park
The Park, formerly known as Connell Corporate Park, is undergoing a $500 million repositioning to bring an urban energy and community to the suburbs. The Park is situated on a walkable, 185-acre campus with a 176-room Embassy Suites Hotel, 112,000 square foot Lifetime Fitness center and over 1.5 million square feet of work resort offices, flexible workspaces and collaborative lounges all anchored by a hospitality, culinary, and wellness culture. The Park is currently adding The District at The Park, which will include 328 apartments and 185,000 square feet of restaurants and entertainment retail, bringing the whole campus together into one vibrant destination. To learn more about The Park, please visit: https://theparkatnj.com/
About The Connell Company
The Connell Company, founded in 1926, is one of the largest diversified, privately held corporations in the United States. Since its inception, there have been five generations of the Connell family owning and involved in the business. Over its 99 years in business, Connell has evolved from a commodities-based organization to a real estate and finance-based firm. To learn more about The Connell Company, please visit: https://connellco.com/
ROUND TABLE WORKSPACES LEASING CONTACT:
Sharon Lammens
lammens@connellco.com
THE DISTRICT AT THE PARK RETAIL LEASING CONTACT:
Capricorn Retail Advisors, Larry Weinstein
Larryw@capricornre.com
Capricorn Retail Advisors, Carly Ibach
Carly@capricornre.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Violet PR, Amanda Ferraro
Amanda@violetpr.com
SOURCE The Connell Company