Megan Apostol

By Kurt Vierheilig, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

According to the most recent Arts & Economic Prosperity report by Americans for the Arts, when we fund the arts, we are not supporting a frill or an extra. Rather, we are investing in an industry—one that stimulates the economy, supports local jobs, and contributes to building healthy and vibrant communities.

By working with DMR Architects, municipalities have been able to use their existing and new buildings and green spaces to provide unique performance spaces.

In Englewood, the recently completed renovation of bergenPAC was informed by the board’s goal to rejuvenate the outdated facility while preserving its cultural significance to Downtown Englewood.

The resulting aesthetic is a blend of modern and traditional elements including exposed brick walls, marble on interactive bar areas, bronze detailing and wood paneling paired with exposed ceilings and hanging lights to give it a current vibe.

But before we got there, we were faced with a situation we as architects are frequently tasked with: They knew what they wanted but weren’t sure how to get there.  We worked with them through a few iterations of design, renderings, and samples to help them understand and translate their vision into a reality.  It was a process to get there but the result exceeded all expectations with our client calling the experience, “a harmonious marriage of architecture and the performing arts and a testament to the power of design as inspiration and elevation for the human spirit.”

The unique juxtaposition of materials contributed to an improved pre-show experience in the public entry lounge, as well as in a newly created VIP entertainment area with its own entryway.  The atmosphere upgrades throughout have resulted in people coming earlier to gather before entering the theater space and more repeat visits, and the new VIP area also allows the facility to host exclusive events like meet-and-greets with talent.  It has also elevated bergenPAC as part of a visit to Englewood that is known for its upscale shopping and dining and is now attracting a higher caliber of talent that fills its calendar throughout the year appealing to a wider demographic including young professionals looking for a night out as well as parents looking for family entertainment.

We also worked on the award-winning repurposing of Hackensack’s 140-year-old Masonic Temple into a 224-seat performing arts center.  When we began working with the city on its downtown redevelopment and rehabilitation plan in 2012, it stressed that the inclusion of civic elements and public spaces were key to the city’s success.

Hackensack’s previous facility was somewhat makeshift, in a space that wasn’t located, designed or configured to function as a theater or to inspire placemaking.  As part of the planning process, we suggested that the city should purchase the more centrally located Masonic Temple and adjacent parking lot as a replacement for the original PAC.

Interior design anywhere—but especially in performance spaces—is about igniting as many of the senses as possible including visually pleasing design, comforting materials for seating, and incorporating the best acoustics. It’s important to create a cohesion to enhance the experience for theatergoers.

The redevelopment of the Masonic Temple’s interior allowed them to create a robust entertainment calendar and was central to the plan that has since attracted retail and dining businesses as well as developers who have since built thousands of residential units.

The Hackensack PAC’s interior upgrades were complimented by the conversion of the adjacent parking lot into Atlantic Street Park, an urban green space where those who live and work in Hackensack can enjoy nature as well as municipal events like movie nights and free concerts at its amphitheater.

In Woodcliff Lake, DMR designed concepts for a two-acre, municipally owned parcel into the first borough-owned park that was expected to transform the downtown. In addition to the trails and expanses of green space that would be expected in a park, the plans included an amphitheater that would allow the borough to host musical and theatrical performances, attracting visitors from all across Bergen County and beyond.

The Performing Arts Centers in Englewood and Hackensack have achieved what The Arts & Economic Prosperity report by Americans for the Arts says they’re for: vibrant arts communities attract visitors who spend money and help local businesses thrive.  They also keep residents spending money local-a value-add that few industries can compete with.

A version of this article originally appeared in NJ Municipalities. 

DMR’s Founder and Chairman Lloyd Rosenberg, AIA takes a look back at the past 33 years to mark the top five inflection points in New Jersey’s real estate and architectural history:

Multi-Family Revolution. DMR’s practice started out with a narrow focus but now spans many asset classes, and its multi-family work is a prime example of expanding along with market demand: as the state’s luxury housing market expanded – much of it in downtown areas – DMR grew with it.

One example of this is the 19.78-acre The Record site in Hackensack which DMR incorporated into the City of Hackensack’s 2012 municipal redevelopment plan as part of the extension of its downtown district to the Hackensack River and is now the site of a luxury 650-unit community with 18,000 square feet of retail. 12 years later…we can see how impactful that initial planning has been.

Another example is the Annin Flag Factory in Verona which had been part of New Jersey’s landscape since 1919 creating flags for some of the country’s most historically significant moments.  While one of its flags still stands on the moon, DMR’s design to repurpose the building in 2017 into 52 loft-style apartment homes and common areas with a 60-apartment home sister building generate record rents; a feat that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years before.

Design Build, Public-Private Partnerships, and Construction Efficiency. As materials, land, and labor costs have skyrocketed over DMR’s 33 years, the firm has been a distinctive participant in creating greater efficiencies to combat inflation.  When we formed in 1991, alternative funding, procurement and delivery methods such as public-private partnerships and design-build projects were a far-off notion that would have been unthinkable in a public bidding setting.

Even now, with the benefits of these platforms demonstrated on many occasions, we are part of the first team to secure a public-private partnership in the State under current legislation enacted in 2019.  PPP’s allow public entities to enter into an agreement with a private entity which assumes the financial and administrative responsibility for the design, development, and construction.  We anticipate benefits including project risk transfer to the private partner, more innovative designs, reduced costs and timelines, and freed up public funding for other important projects.

Our design-build projects have garnered much attention, including the $150 million Frank J. Gargiulo Campus project in Secaucus, finished in a record 27 months, a year less than what similar projects normally take.  DMR is also committed to the efficient application of its design work and created its own construction administration department to assure that its clients receive maximum value from their contracting vendors.

Affordable Housing Maturation. Through the various cycles of affordable housing regulation in New Jersey, which began with a court decision in 1983, we’ve seen a variety of permutations ranging from stand-alone buildings to inclusionary housing to special needs and senior developments.

One of the challenges of affordable housing is how to stretch the budget so that the aesthetics of the buildings blend into the overall look and vibe of a town.  A frequent aspiration, stated in different ways, is that once affordable housing is going to be developed, it needs to make special populations feel embraced by the communities.

The source of these developments is the communities in which the housing is built:  whether it be a private developer fulfilling an obligation or a not-for-profit delivering on its mission or a housing authority responding to local needs, the design solution can drive the success and esteem of a project.

Healthcare Evolution. The growth in the healthcare industry has been remarkable with hospital systems expanding across county lines through the development of satellite offices.  What once was a binary marketplace made up of doctor’s offices and acute care facilities has blossomed into a complex network that now includes urgent care, high-tech treatment, and specialty practice facilities.

The trend has been a boon to New Jersey office owners, as many of those facilities have been adapted into healthcare uses, including Hunterdon Healthcare, which created a state-of-the-art medical facility including an imaging lab and a surgery center in Bridgewater from a former Bank of America office building.

Technology-Driven Advancements. Just as educational spaces have become more technologically advanced, so have architectural tools. When we were overseeing the construction of the Frank J. Gargiulo Campus in Secaucus we were able to keep the entire project on time and budget through the use of Revit which allowed us to see progress through a 3D model of the school.

The first cad-cam programs, which allowed for digital design on personal computers, are more than 40 years old now, but the real strides are in front of us, with Artificial Intelligence promising enhancements in speed and proficiency that we cannot even begin to estimate.

This article originally appeared in NJBiz.