The Trenton Times published the following article on February 16, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

State agency may leave iconic Trenton building vacant

By Erin Duffy/The Times of Trenton 
on February 16, 2013 at 7:30 AM

TRENTON — The soon-to-be-vacated Wells Fargo headquarters could already have a new tenant lined up — but the move could come at the expense of one of the downtown’s more prominent historic spaces.

The Schools Development Authority is in talks to move its base of operations and employees from 1 West State St., a landmark bank building, to the soon-to-be-vacant Wells Fargo regional headquarters at 32 E. Front St.

It may seem like a simple space swap — SDA moves its offices from one location to another just blocks away.

But preservationists and the owner of 1 W. State St. said more is at stake — the possibility that the SDA relocation could leave one of downtown Trenton’s more iconic buildings near-empty.

“There is no private market in the city of Trenton right now for space. None or not much,” said Ron Berman, a local developer and owner of 1 W. State St. with his company, DB Realty II. “The great likelihood is this building would remain vacant, and could for a long time.”

SDA declined comment, but Berman said the state began talking to him in the last few weeks about consolidating its offices in one location — 32 E. Front St. The SDA already occupies one floor of that building, but saw an opportunity to house all its offices there after last month’s announcement that Wells Fargo would vacate its 46,000 square feet regional headquarters there for a new office in West Windsor this summer.

“They were talking about renewing the lease until Wells Fargo decided to leave,” Berman said.

The SDA’s 10-year lease for 1 W. State St., where it occupies six floors or 68,000 of the building’s 78,000 square feet, ends in November.

Berman said he doesn’t blame the state for looking at 32 E. Front St., also known as Liberty Commons. At less than 10 years old, the building is new and modern, with a public parking garage next door that would be convenient for SDA employees.

But factors other than rent or convenience need to be weighed when contemplating a move, including the historic significance of 1 W. State St. and its location at the center of Trenton’s downtown business district, just blocks away from the Statehouse, Berman said. It won’t reflect well on the capital if another downtown building is closed or boarded-up.

“The decision has much more vested implication for the city than simply which move is a little better or a little more convenient,” he said. “The SDA had its headquarters here for 10 years. I guess our argument is they need to take into consideration the historic nature of the building and its impact on the neighborhood.”

Opened in 1930 as a bank, 1 W. State St. boasts a stone facade, neoclassic architecture and a first-floor bank lobby with marble floors, soaring ceilings and a mural by N.C. Wyeth depicting George Washington passing through Trenton on the way to his first presidential inauguration. The building is on Trenton’s list of historic landmarks.

Before it was a bank, the location — known as “The Corner Historic,” which is engraved across the top of the building — was the location of the colony of New Jersey’s first royal governor, home to an 18th century tavern reportedly frequented by Washington and was the site of a 1784 meeting of the Continental Congress.

Upstairs, the SDA offices were almost completely renovated 10 years ago when the state agency moved in, with new electrical and climate systems installed then, Berman said. Wells Fargo operates a branch on the first floor, but its lease is up in October, too.

Stephanie Cherry-Farmer, the senior programs director at the nonprofit Preservation New Jersey, said her organization has agreed to write to the SDA on Berman’s behalf encouraging the agency to stay put.

“This is a landmark Trenton corner and this building really needs to have tenants in it,” Cherry-Farmer said. “…The loss to Trenton is, in a city where abandoned and vacant buildings are a serious problem, here we’d have a viable building in the center of a central business district that would be largely vacant. The fact that it is a landmark is an additional loss, a piece of heritage not being used or occupied.”

Officials at Matrix Development Group, which owns 32 E. Front St., could not be reached for comment.

Contact Erin Duffy at (609) 989-5723 or eduffy@njtimes.com