The site of a vacant Sears store, a local eyesore, is being transformed into a luxury development that will add much-needed multifamily housing to the home of New Jersey's state university.
The Raye by Vermella will ultimately have 534 units, with its first phase of 272 apartments already completed, adding vibrancy to the city of New Brunswick, home to Rutgers University's flagship campus. The redevelopment is situated on a 36-acre site that once housed a Sears store and auto center that had been vacant since 2020.
The project — an imaginative repurposing of a languishing former retail property — earned a 2026 CoStar Impact Award for redevelopment of the year in Northern New Jersey, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
A joint venture of Russo Development and Transformco, owner and operator of the remaining Sears store fleet, spearheaded the mixed-use redevelopment that is bringing an array of housing types, higher-end retail offerings and an overall improvement to the Route 1 corridor. Russo has also presented plans to bring — in partnership with Pulte Homes and Scarlett Place — a 169-unit townhouse development to the Raye campus.
In addition to being the base for Rutgers, New Brunswick is also the headquarters of Johnson & Johnson, the site of Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and the location of numerous pharmaceutical firms.
About the project: The Sears site required extensive and heavy demolition work because the former store had a deep-set basement made of heavy concrete and substantial supportive slabs.
At full build-out, The Raye will include two buildings with floor plans ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, with dens in select units. The second phase, totaling 262 units, is slated for completion late this year and will round out the full collection of 534 apartment units. Russo broke ground on the project in 2023.
What the judges said: The Raye is a "creative, engaging impactful development," said Jason Crimmins, CEO of Blau & Berg Co.
William Hanson, president and managing principal of NAI James E. Hanson, called the project a "very difficult redevelopment that will truly change the area."
They made it happen: Diogo Santos, senior vice president of development, Russo Development; Adam Pasternack, president of property management, Russo Development; Dominick Tucci, executive vice president, head of construction, Russo Development; and Minno Wasko Architects & Planners.
CoStar Market Manager Amanda Thomas contributed to this report.