Kimmerle Group, a New Jersey-based, multifaceted design, real estate, planning, development, and branding practice, has completed a full-building renovation and expansion at Onyx Equities’ 650 From Road in Paramus, N.J. Onyx Equities, a leading real estate investment and property services firm specializing in commercial properties, acquired the 350,000-square-foot, 5-story building from Mack-Cali in 2019.
Kimmerle Group was retained by Onyx Equities to carry out capital improvements throughout the building’s office and amenity spaces. The design firm provided site design, conceptual and architectural design, interior design, and product purchasing and procurement services for all interior and exterior areas. The firm’s full-service engagement also included conceptual studies for branding, signage and messaging elements in 650 From Road’s common areas.
650 From Road now features a redesigned and upgraded suite of tenant amenities, such as a new café with indoor/outdoor dining areas, recreation center with a putting green, pool table, lounge seating and arcade games. Tenants also have access to a high-end conference center and lounge with accent lighting and custom perforated metal ceiling details. The upgrades have an urban ambiance in an otherwise suburban location.
Paul Newman, a vice president and partner at Kimmerle Group, says: “The successful repositioning of Onyx Equities’ 650 From Road points toward our firm’s deep understanding of the New Jersey office market and its transitions and our ability to deliver a complex multi-phase, multi-disciplinary assignment, even during the pandemic. Onyx Equities had a clear vision for the reimagining of its New Jersey office assets for a new era, and Kimmerle Group was proud to help bring that vision to reality.”
A reimagined central atrium lobby with a custom-designed chandelier features a 5-story live green wall and customizable RBG lighting feature wall that can accommodate tenant and owner branding. This newly designed lighting at the feature walls and in the atrium is highlighted throughout the day and evening hours and is a landmark visible from the garden state parkway. With the primary design intent of “bringing the outside in,” the 5-story green wall lines a new corridor leading to the conference center and lounge. The adjacent lobby is finished in warm wood tones and concrete and porcelain LVT flooring, as well as contemporary furniture in a similar color palette and tones.
A completely redefined and re-landscaped lakeside common activity area includes outdoor seating under a new canopy, pergola shelters with Wi-Fi and power access, active fitness/walking paths and recreation stations, new site lighting and pavers throughout the landscaping, as well as outdoor workstations and collaboration areas for tenant use.
“Working with Kimmerle Group on the modernization of 650 From Road, with the addition of a myriad of desirable amenities and features, has elevated the property to a Class-A destination that is sure to attract a variety of tenants that will enjoy the offerings for years to come,” says DJ Venn, senior vice president of Asset Management at Onyx Equities. “This project points the way for the reinvention of older, suburban New Jersey office assets, as active and amenity-rich office parks gain new appeal and market advantage for a new age of users.”
The repositioning of 650 From Road in Paramus is one of more than eight assignments for Onyx Equities that Kimmerle has been engaged with. Kimmerle worked with Onyx Equities to carry out capital improvements for its office assets at 15 East Midland Avenue and 461 From Road, as well as interior fit-outs for tenants at Onyx properties, such as Savvas Learning Company at 15 East Midland Avenue and Coda Staffing at 461 From Road.