The Trenton Times published the following article on February 19, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Former Sen. Torricelli buys Trenton landmark Lorenzo’s, plans $20M office complex

By Erin Duffy/The Times of Trenton 
on February 19, 2013 at 7:58 AM, updated February 19, 2013 at 10:44 AM

TRENTON — As a young aide to former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne and aspiring politician himself, former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli was present at more than a few power lunches and smoky fundraisers at Pete Lorenzo’s Cafe in Trenton.

Located on South Clinton Avenue just a stone’s throw from the Trenton train station and a few blocks from the Statehouse, Pete Lorenzo’s was once the spot for politicians, power brokers and business professionals to kick back with a cigar and steak or negotiate a deal over drinks.

“New Jersey government was run out of Lorenzo’s for several generations,” Torricelli said.

The restaurant is now closed, shuttered in 2009 by its owners amid problems ranging from a broken freezer that spoiled food to sales slowed by smoking and pay-to-play bans.

But change is on the horizon for the once-prominent restaurant: Torricelli, once a customer, now owns the property. And he plans to knock it down in several weeks to make way for first a parking lot and, ultimately, a $20 million office complex.

Lambertville-based Woodrose Properties, a real estate firm in which Torricelli is a partner, bought the site in a bankruptcy sale in September for approximately $450,000, Torricelli said yesterday. The former politician — he withdrew his Senate re-election bid in 2002 amid a campaign finance scandal — has developed three properties in Trenton with Woodrose.

“There’s an odd irony to it,” he said. “I spent so much of my younger years there as an aspiring politician.”

But it’s not nostalgia that’s guiding the former senator — it’s the chance to snap up one of Trenton’s premier pieces of real estate.

The restaurant itself is beyond repair, he said.

“It’s classic Trenton,” he said. “No one was guarding it for years, so vandals removed copper and wiring and piping, homeless people lived in it. The asbestos removal people will not even enter the building because the roof is now collapsing. The whole building needs to come down.”

Demolition is scheduled sometime in the next several weeks. The neon Pete Lorenzo’s sign and the iconic bar have been sold, the tables and chairs and stools already donated to local charities.

Now, Torricelli and his company are focused on what can be done with the land.

The state and federal government have invested $40 million in building up the Trenton Transit Center over the past decade, Torricelli said, but the area still hasn’t seen the type of high-rise office building, restaurant and arena construction that’s sprung up around Newark’s Penn Station or Jersey City in recent years.

“Two-and-a-quarter million people go through that station every year, and it’s one of the few prime transit locations remaining in New Jersey that has not seen active economic development,” he said. He’s putting together plans to build a 45,000-square-foot office complex, perfect for a corporate headquarters seeking access to several regional rail lines feeding into Philadelphia, New York City and the rest of the state, he said.

The only problem? The market for office space in Trenton market is anemic, at best.

The state’s Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program, designed to entice large private employers near train stations in return for tax credits up to 100 percent of their investment, won’t apply for a project of Torricelli’s scope.

So Torricelli, also a principal in the Rosemont Associates lobbying firm, is going to work, negotiating with Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, legislators and the state Economic Development Authority to create a new subcategory of transit tax awards for smaller projects in smaller cities such as Trenton and Camden. Currently, the credits are only available to projects with a minimum capital investment of $50 million, far more than Torricelli plans to spend.

Another Trenton train station project depending on the credits, Daniel Brenna’s ambitious, unbuilt Vista Center office park, is still working to sign a big-name tenant, Brenna said.

Torricelli said he thinks he can persuade the state to tweak the program in the next two or three years. But he needs the state’s help to move forward — and the support of a city government often mired in dysfunction under Mayor Tony Mack.

“Obviously we need some stability in the city of Trenton to raise $20 million in capital and have a realistic thought of this getting built in a timely fashion and rented,” he said. “Some stability, some leadership, quality people.”

Mack and economic development director Walter Denson could not be reached for comment.

Torricelli said the administration of former Mayor Doug Palmer worked closely with him on his other Trenton projects — so much so that the two drew scrutiny for campaign contributions Torricelli made to Palmer as the city gave development rights, tax abatements and Urban Enterprise Zone funds to Woodrose projects.

This latest office venture could appear before the planning board for approvals in the next few months, Torricelli said. While he waits on approvals and word from the state on tax credits, the property will likely become a small surface parking lot for commuters, allowing Woodrose to make money to cover taxes and other expenses.

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