In Holmdel, New Jersey, home of the historic Bell Labs building, developer Ralph Zucker is creating a 'metroburb' called Bell Works. The development is defined as a self-contained, indoor Main Street with retail, dining, and tech office space.
When he first brought the plan for the metroburb to a Holmdel town hall, the response Zucker received was, “Hell no.” Zucker told Fast Company that an open house in 2009 changed a lot of minds. He projected shops and offices onto the walls; the simulation of the space’s potential was so compelling, he said, that one woman smacked her head on a wall, thinking a projected hotel lobby was real. In 2013, he received final approval from Holmdel for the purchase, and to have the building rezoned as mixed-use.
What is to be done with the now-defunct office parks that once drew employees out to the suburbs across America? A 2016 report found that around 22 percent of office inventory in five suburban markets is empty and struggling to attract new tenants; that’s up to 1 billion square feet of unused space. In a time when the country is struggling with both housing volume and affordability ... we need to be thinking more proactively about how best to use these massive, abandoned lots.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Market Data + Trends
Data Show New-Home Construction Starts Slowed at the End of 2023
Despite falling mortgage rates and a continuing shortage of housing inventory, the annual pace of new-home construction slowed in December
Housing Markets
Top 10 Metros for New Homes in 2024
Punta Gorda, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., top the list of places where new-home construction is booming
New-Construction Projects
US Housing Starts See Unexpected Surge in November
Census Bureau data show new-home construction was up 14.8% in November, suggesting the housing crunch may be easing