Rutgers Business School's move into 1 Washington Park spurring redevelopment in Newark

Aug. 4, 2009 - PRLog -- The presence of Rutgers Business School at 1 Washington Park will assist in the ongoing redevelopment of the northern end of Newark’s Downtown/Arts District, and Broad Street station area, which has many assets but also many vacant properties.

The new building will bring approximately 3,500 Rutgers Business School students and 150 faculty and staff members to Washington Street and the historic James Street neighborhood, increasing foot traffic, public safety, and the overall attractiveness of the area. The majority of the students will be undergraduate business majors, who will take liberal arts courses on the main part of the campus three blocks to the south and business courses at 1 Washington Park, thereby increasing the Rutgers presence in the James Street district. Full time MBA and part time MBA students benefit from the central location.

“The move of our business school to 1 Washington Park is a major step in the revitalization of the north end of downtown Newark,” said Steven J. Diner, Ph.D., Chancellor of Rutgers University in Newark. “The Broad Street train station is the least leveraged asset in downtown Newark. Revitalization of the area surrounding the station is a critical part of Rutgers-Newark’s goal of creating a vibrant 24/7 campus with retail development that will attract and support a growing student residential population. The move also has sparked the City of Newark’s announcement of a comprehensive plan to redevelop the neighborhood surrounding the Broad Street Station, in partnership with the university.”

As with the recently completed Center for Law and Justice, Rutgers anticipates that 1 Washington Park will quickly become a magnet for community use — from all levels of the residential, corporate, and civic communities, given its adjacency to the Newark Public Library, The Newark Museum, the burgeoning corporate community at the northern end of Broad Street, and the James Street District.

A business school on the move

The facility at 1 Washington Park is the second largest capital investment in Rutgers history. A total of $83 million has been committed for the purchase, complete renovation, and expansion of the facility. The project is being funded by an $18-million state appropriation, $7 million through federal New Market Tax Credits, and the balance invested by Rutgers directly. Another RBS building is to open in 2012 on the Livingston campus, to be a center for Business and Professional Studies.

“This is an appropriate move for the bustling and expanding business school that RBS has become and the only business school that delivers business, science, and technology credentials demanded to drive local, national, and global markets,” said Dean Michael R. Cooper, PhD. “The new building will provide state-of-the art facilities for the RBS community as well as room for the inevitable growth at the business school.”

Related Articles:
* Rutgers Business School moving to new state-of-the art headquarters at 1 Washington Park: http://www.business.rutgers.edu/newsDetail.aspx?id=249

* The nuts and bolts of 1 Washington Park: parking, safety, food and more: http://www.business.rutgers.edu/newsDetail.aspx?id=251

* RBS Expansion on the New Brunswick Livingston Campus: http://www.business.rutgers.edu/default.aspx?id=1892

Rutgers Business School: http://business.rutgers.edu

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Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick is an integral part of one of the nation’s oldest, largest, and most distinguished institutions of higher learning: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Founded in 1766, Rutgers Business School has been accredited since 1941 by AACSB International–the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business — a distinction that represents the hallmark of excellence in management education. Today, Rutgers Business School is educating more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students at two main campuses in New Jersey as well as six satellite locations in New Jersey, China, and Singapore. Rutgers Business School is ranked #10 nationwide for “Most Competitive Students” by The Princeton Review; and is part of the campus that is ranked #1 in diversity nationwide by U.S. News & World Report, for 12 straight years. Full-time MBA and part-time MBA programs give excellent options for people looking to boost their careers.