Montclair Real Estate Project Earns ‘Good Neighbor’ Award

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A real estate project in Montclair recently earned a 2024 “Good Neighbor Award” from the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA).

The NJBIA and its flagship publication, New Jersey Business Magazine, announced the 10 winners of its annual awards on Tuesday. The awards highlight firms, institutions and nonprofits that have “contributed to the economic growth in the state” and in their respective neighborhoods.

This year’s list included a project that transformed a 6,400-square-foot building in Montclair. The architect was Sionas Architecture, and the builder was Jack Finn & Company.

Here’s why the project deserves recognition, according to the NJBIA:

"This Colonial Revival-style structure that became The Montclair National Bank in 1926 and later a Chase Bank was sold in 2021 to The Bravitas Group, a real estate company known for repurposing architecturally interesting buildings. With a construction staff of 72, The Bravitas Group transformed the 6,400-square-foot building – now called The National – into boutique office space and restored the façade by installing wood windows with trimmed panels echoing the original design. Other changes included replacing the modern entryway with double glass panel doors reminiscent of a prior era, restoration of the building’s old clock, and repair of original brick and stone elements of the façade. The developer was also able to add usable square footage to the interior by renovating unfinished space on the lower level and adding a mezzanine in the unfinished attic. After construction was completed in February of 2023, The National became home to Montclair Speech Therapy, a company with 28 full-time employees, with the main bank vault being repurposed into a children’s occupational therapy room."

NJBIA president and CEO Michele Siekerka said that combined, the 10 winning projects have created more than $80 million in capital improvements, 1,047 construction jobs and nearly 1,000 permanent jobs, in addition to “providing valuable assets and generating tremendous economic activity.”

“These winning projects improve our quality of life, revitalize neighborhoods, provide valuable services and resources and bring communities together,” Siekerka said. “We are grateful for the benefits these projects have brought to New Jersey and congratulate the winners.”

Full summaries, and the criteria for how winners were selected, can be found in the July issue of New Jersey Business Magazine.

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