Downtown New Jersey Focuses on Reinvention at Annual Conference on February 10 & 11
Downtown New Jersey Focuses on Reinvention
at Annual Conference on February 10 & 11
Downtown New Jersey’s annual conference remains virtual this year, but New Jersey’s premiere economic development event will continue to offer insights and lessons into downtown management best practices, as well as development, business, and retail market trends. The public and media are invited to participate in this year’s conference, Reimagine & Reinvent Downtown, a two-day education and networking experience that will take place on Thursday, February 10 and Friday, February 11.
COVID-19 has reinforced the value of downtowns as vehicles for providing enormous economic, cultural, and social benefits to communities throughout New Jersey.
Lyneir Richardson of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers University will give the opening keynote on Thursday, February 10, kicking off the conference’s first day with a focus on inclusive strategies for economic resilience. He will then be joined by a panel of distinguished practitioners to discuss real world examples of equitable and inclusive best management practices. We look forward to an intriguing discussion, moderated by EMI Strategy’s Emily Manz, between Mr. Richardson and Audible’s Aisha Glover, Downtown Somerville’s Natalie Peneiro, and the NJ Small Business Development Center’s Rafael Mata.
During the second panel of the morning, Commercial District Service’s Chris Bernardo, the NJ Neighborhood Preservation Program’s Jef Buehler, City of Asbury Park’s Michael Manzella, and Invest Newark’s Vanessa Quijano will join in a conversation with DNJ President and Downtown Westfield Executive Director Bob Zuckerman focused on new technology that is making downtowns more user-friendly and easier to manage.
Redevelopment is the topic of the conference’s second day, Friday, February 11, when a panel of developers and designers discuss their experiences reimaging the “white elephant” – large scale developments that were conceived in decades past and have become unloved and underutilized due to changes in society since they were constructed. Gensler’s Roger Smith will moderate a panel where you will hear about the efforts to reuse Lord & Taylor stores from Streetworks’ Richard Heapes, plans for Newark’s Gateway Center from Onyx Equities’ Jonathan Schultz, the redevelopment of Bell Labs in Holmdel from Somerset Development’s Ralph Zucker, and general commercial real estate trends from NAIOP NJ’s Michael G. McGuinness.
The conference will conclude with a virtual networking session where attendees discuss conference topics further, and can visit with our sponsors.
For more details about the 2022 New Jersey Downtown Conference and to register, visit dnjconference.com.
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About Downtown New Jersey
DNJ is a non-profit membership organization of individuals, businesses, developers, government agencies, and local and regional entities that are passionate about downtowns. DNJ provides advocacy, education, and technical assistance resources dedicated to ensuring the vitality of our downtowns. For more information, visit downtownnj.com
