Planning Board approves 8‑story Middlesex County administrative building, with conditions and off‑site parking plan

The New Brunswick Planning Board moved April 13 to approve the consolidation of 15 lots and preliminary and final site plan for an eight‑story administrative office building proposed by AS New Brunswick LLC in the Redmond 2 redevelopment area, subject to a detailed set of conditions tied to city and county review.

Attorney Tyler Spur introduced the proposal and called engineer Christian Roach and architect Matthew Jal to testify. Roach said the project would consolidate 15 parcels into two conforming lots and construct an approximately 27,000‑square‑foot at‑grade footprint with a total of about 218,000 gross square feet of office space. The applicants identified the building on the record as a Middlesex County administrative building and said the project conforms with the Redmond 2 redevelopment plan and does not require variances.

On parking, Roach explained the redevelopment plan requires one space per 700 square feet (312 spaces for the project). The team proposed 34 electric‑vehicle stalls that reduce the calculated demand to 278 stalls when EV credits are applied; they plan to provide roughly half of that capacity on site (139 stalls) and the remainder off site in a parking deck under the authority of the city's parking authority. Roach said the applicant provided a ledger from the parking authority confirming available off‑site capacity and that the redevelopment plan allows for up to 100% off‑site parking if a future parking deck is constructed.

On stormwater, Roach said the design team worked with the city's consulting engineer and proposed an underground detention basin beneath the parking area plus mechanical treatment devices to meet state and city stormwater quality and detention standards. The applicants indicated they will comply with the city's stormwater comments.

Architect Matthew Jal described building materials and massing (curtain wall, metal panels, ribbon windows), vertical circulation sized to accommodate ambulance stretchers, the public first‑floor footprint and larger identical upper floors, and rooftop and monument signage that will read "Middlesex County Administrative Building." Jal provided exact building area numbers on the record (total 217,976 sq ft; first floor 26,799 sq ft; floors two through eight roughly 27,311 sq ft) and corrected an earlier remark to state the first floor floor‑to‑floor height is 16 feet.

The board imposed a comprehensive set of conditions before implementation: compliance with city engineering and planning reports (noted in the record as March 17 and April 9, 2026), submission of necessary easements and cross‑access agreements, site performance bonds and escrow deposits, payment of redeveloper and other applicable fees, county planning board approval or waiver (Middlesex County Planning Board), soil conservation district approval or waiver, map filing and deed recording, a title 39 parking enforcement agreement, underground utilities, control of construction staging and street restoration, and other standard post‑approval items. The motion to approve carried with conditions; applicants must finalize plans and secure the listed approvals and permits before construction begins.

Next steps include final engineering plan submissions, coordination with the parking authority on off‑site stalls and EV stall locations, completion of escrow and bonding requirements, and any necessary filings with Middlesex County authorities.