As he was leaving yet another ribbon-cutting in Morristown, Mayor Tim Dougherty quickly rattled off all that was still coming to the city of just over 20,000 residents.
“We’ve got an amazing development that’s going to be built at the train station,” he began. “We’ve got lofts that are going to be built on Spring Street. We’ve got an extended-stay hotel that is going to be built where Staples is — along with another residential project. And we have affordable housing coming.
“Morristown is opening up to so many people. I think that’s what keeps us going.”
Left unsaid is all that has happened in town in the past few years.
An incredible new headquarters for Valley Bank, two state-of-the-art M Station office buildings — which are now home to Deloitte and Sanofi.
And, of course, the reason for Dougherty’s latest ribbon-cutting: A transformation of the bottom floors of HQ Plaza, the longtime anchor of the area.
The effort, undertaken by Gensler (which has long had an office in town), has turned a dark and dreary bottom floor into an open and energetic common area and meeting place for both tenants and residents.
Dougherty bragged about how many meetings he’s already had there.
HQ Plaza and Morristown clearly are a destination. But it always wasn’t that way.
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For all the allure of the town’s well-known Green, a small park area surrounded by retail, office and residential, it could be argued that HQ Plaza has been the center of town for more than four decades.
It certainly has been the center of office activity.
With a million-plus square feet of office, HQ Plaza has been the city’s largest taxpayer since it opened in 1981. It just hasn’t been its biggest attraction.
There were a hotel and a movie theater. But not much else to draw residents — let alone the tenants.
To their credit, co-owners Brian Fisher (principal partner of Fisher Development Associates) and Seth Schochet (CEO of the Olnick Organization) acknowledged the shortcomings.
Fisher joked it’s something he’s been working on for four decades.
What they have now is something to behold, Schochet said. The transformation, which started with an upgrade to the Hyatt Regency, is now complete, he said.
“From upgrading infrastructure to modernizing tenant spaces in common areas to bolstering our restaurant and retail offerings, every detail was carefully considered to ensure HQ Plaza meets the evolving needs of today’s business and visitors,” he told a crowd of a few hundred, many of whom were tenants thrilled by the transformation.
“Working alongside our partners at Gensler, we focused on creating spaces that are functional, flexible and inspiring, all while maintaining the property’s central role in Morristown’s downtown.
“HQ Plaza has long been central to Morristown’s identity, a place where businesses, culture and community interact. With these renovations complete, it’s poised to remain a defining destination for years to come.”
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Much has been made of Morristown’s ability to attract large corporations. KPMG, in fact, is in the process of renovating 66,000 square feet of space on the top floors of one of the HQ Plaza towers.
But, like any town, opportunities for small businesses are just as important.
That’s why a key moment in the transformation of HQ Plaza occurred back in 2021 — during the pandemic — when Andrew Gering signed leases to bring both Parkside Tavern and the Sushi Lounge to HQ Plaza (the two are separate restaurants but share the same back of the house).
The restaurants, which opened last summer, will get a big boost from the transformation, Gering said.
“This is a tremendous day,” he said. “When we agreed to come here, the building was under construction. Everyone was looking around, wondering what was going to happen here. This exceeds expectations.”
Gering said it’s not just the bottom floors that are key. He points to the outside patio areas as another aspect that draws people.
“Every day, more people are coming into town,” he said.
People such as Bhavna and Vishal Ajwani.
The Ajwanis, who live locally and own and operate the fresh&co restaurant in Westfield, were frequent visitors to Morristown, where they said they enjoyed the restaurants and the mix of businesses and residents.
“We think Morristown is extremely vibrant and cool with a lot of fun things going on,” Bhavna Ajwani said. “We love that there’s a park in the middle of downtown, and then there are businesses surrounding that. I think it’s very attractive to both families as well as people you know who are coming here for work.”
Given a chance to open a location at HQ Plaza, they jumped at it.
Vishal Ajwani said they expect to open by the end of the year — and are confident they will bring a new dynamic to the city scene.
“What we are looking to bring to HQ Plaza is very clean, fresh and healthy food,” he said. “We make about 85% of our food from scratch.”
Their restaurant, combined with Parkside Tavern and the Sushi Lounge, along with Masseria Italian Steakhouse, which aims to combine old-world Italian charm and cuisine with an upscale steakhouse, will be big draws for HQ Plaza.
“We’re part of what is making Morristown hot,” Gering said.
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So, what are the next steps for the town? For starters, there’s a need to find more office space.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Donnelly Jr., who has led much of the leasing of HQ Plaza, said there’s not much room left there — or anywhere in the heart of the city.
“You can’t get an entire floor at HQ Plaza now,” he said. “And downtown Morristown is a very tight, full market.
“The greater Morristown area has some vacancy, places such as 412 Mount Kemble (known as APX), which are just outside of town, but in the core downtown, there’s only 5% to 7% vacancy.”
The next potential space will come off the Green at North Park Place, where the city has long been working to transform the now-vacant Century 21 location since the retailer went bankrupt during the pandemic.
One plan, announced last fall, promised to bring 160 apartments and/or condos, 143,900 square feet of commercial office space and 43,500 square feet of ground-level retail. It was approved by the town council, but it has yet to move forward — and there are questions whether it will.
“We’re focused on North Park,” Dougherty said. “We have to get that figured out. And we will. Sooner rather than later.”
Morristown, Dougherty said, has too much to offer to allow quality parcels to sit.
Of course, Dougherty said he’s known this since he first took office in 2010. He saw the incredible arts offerings — from traditional shows at Mayo Performing Arts Center to weekend outings, such as the town’s famous jazz festival.
Dougherty said he’s always seen the big picture. He’s thrilled that so many others now do, too.
“People have recognized our location — central to New Jersey, central to the Shore, central to New York City and to the mountains, both the Adirondacks in New Jersey and the outer parts of New Jersey,” he said. “People don’t realize that you can go five minutes out of Morristown and be in the country.
“We have everything residents and businesses are looking for: Great food, great shops, great health care, great schools and an incredibly diverse community.
“We’ve got it all.”
For information about HQ Plaza, go to hqplazamorristown.com
