Civic Square II Project
Public/Private Partnership for Downtown Revitalization
U.S. Postal Service, 2000
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) partnered with the City of New Brunswick on the development of Civic Square II, a four-story, 95,000 square foot structure housing a combination of federal, county and city users. It is the first public/private partnership of its kind in the State of New Jersey. The project creates a government district, providing a bridge between the city’s nearby cultural, academic, health care and business sectors. It is expected to be a catalyst for additional downtown revitalization, which is now dominated by the city’s public housing complex and scattered and abandoned stores and houses.
The USPS Realty Asset Management Group acted as an internal consultant and contracting office by providing real estate expertise to identify, analyze and maximize the return on underutilized or excess postal real property assets. Based on previous development projects, the USPS determined that implementation of a long term, unsubordinated ground lease, with participation by the developer and/or lessee, often provided the Postal Service with a financial return far exceeding that generated by the simple sale of a property. At the same time, USPS received improved operational space for its own needs, at either nominal or no cost.
Financial benefits are evident in this project. Rather than expending $1.3 million to address a backlog of deferred maintenance items, USPS realized $2.2 million from the transaction in prepaid ground rent and a temporary facility build-out allowance. Operations improved, as well as customer satisfaction and employee morale and productivity.
For more information, contact Edward J. Rynne, Jr. at (703) 526-2856 or via e-mail at erynne1@email.usps.gov
