Avison Young Selected to Manage Hotel Development in Northern New Jersey

By Adriana Pop, Senior Associate Editor

Montclair, N.J.–Avison Young’s New Jersey-based project management team has been retained as construction manager and general contractor for The MC boutique hotel, the first-of-its-kind development in Montclair, N.J., in nearly 80 years. The community’s last full-service hotel known as Hotel Montclair closed in 1938.

The MC boutique hotel in Montclair, N.J.

A joint-venture partnership of The Pinnacle Cos., The Hampshire Cos. and Circle Squared Alternative Investments recently broke ground on the 120,000-square-foot, 151-key hotel, which will rise at Bloomfield Avenue and Orange Road.

Scheduled for completion in early 2018, the eight-story hotel will be part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection. The project will include a farm-to-table restaurant and 12,000 square feet of conference and event space. Plans also call for a rooftop bar that offers panoramic views of Manhattan to the east and the Eagle Rock Reservation to the west. An outdoor public plaza connected to a three-story glass atrium will create a year-round gathering place.

The Avison Young team of Edward Walsh, P.E., principal and managing director of project management services; John Mercurio, vice-president of construction; and Christopher Bezzone, project manager, is overseeing the assignment.

“At Avison Young, we’ve strategically built a Project Management Services group that can adeptly meet the varying needs of owners and investors, and this assignment is a great example of our dexterity,” Walsh said in prepared remarks. “Pinnacle CM company, the construction management arm of The Pinnacle Cos., will also be working with Avison Young on government relations and as the owner’s representative for furniture, fixtures and equipment. We’re thrilled to play a role in bringing to life a project that will surely become an iconic part of the landscape of Montclair.”

The MC hotel is part of the second phase of the Montclair Center Gateway Redevelopment Plan, which was enacted in 2011 to encourage a sustainable mixed-use development at the western edge of Montclair’s downtown. The plan also includes the Valley & Bloom mixed-use residential project developed by Montclair-based Pinnacle and LCOR.

Once complete, the hotel’s rooftop bar area is set to host cultural activities such as morning yoga, programs with Jazz House Kids and the Montclair Film Festival, while the two-story art atrium will feature art exhibitions. The owners also expect the hotel to collaborate on events with nearby Montclair State University.

“We’re proud to work on a project that will put Montclair on the map as one of New Jersey’s truly premier destinations for visitors,” Mercurio added. “It’s also gratifying to oversee the construction of a building that is complementary to the existing fabric of Montclair. The MC is the type of compelling project that excites our team and allows us to excel.”

Rendering courtesy of BOGZA