Middlesex County Investing $16M to Become Sole Owner of Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick

Cindy Braun can show students how to whip up a pâté in the three-credit Garde Manger course.

Andrew Rubin can suggest the best entrée choices while planning a corporate luncheon for, say, 100 investment bankers in the four-credit Banquet and Dining Room Management course.

Brian McInerney can warn students taking the Cakes, Deco & Specialty Tech course not to overbeat their eggs lest they risk making their meringue too firm.

It’s hard to recreate in a classroom setting, however, what it’s like when you’re near the end of a double shift and your stock pot of boeuf bourguignon is this close to burning and the boss wants you to fill in at the Poissonnier station.

The professors at Middlesex College’s Hospitality, Culinary, and Dietetics program say that’s the kind of real-world experience their students will get under a new strategic educational investment the county is making in the Heldrich Hotel and Convention Center.

Through consolidation of ownership of the New Brunswick hotel announced at a news conference on Livingston Avenue on Thursday, the county will provide hands-on learning opportunities to residents while also strengthening and accelerating workforce development and fueling regional economic growth.

Thanks to the $16 million investment, the 375,000-square-foot, 11-story Heldrich Hotel will be solely owned by the county and will be re-imagined as a professional development hub for a range of studies including hospitality, culinary, construction management, business administration, trades including HVAC or electrical and more.

Students at Middlesex College as well as those from the county’s Magnet School District will learn from the expertise of unionized Heldrich employees to continue to serve and support the hospitality needs of residents, visitors, business leaders, corporate partners, and athletes.

“This would be ideal for the students in terms of an externship,” Rubin said, standing near the entrance of the Heldrich after Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ron Rios, Middlesex College President Mark McCormick, Executive Director of the Middlesex County Improvement Authority Jim Polos and other officials delivered remarks and the crowd of stakeholders headed off.

“If it’s a conference and a convention center, there’s all sorts of events going on, there’s a constant influx of people from performing arts, people visiting that are doing either the educational development that they talked about or the sporting events,” he added. “There’s always something going on around here, all the venues around here. So, there’ll always be events. They’ll be part of the events planning, execution, and evaluation process.”

The Heldrich Hotel, which opened its automatic sliding glass doors in 2007, was originally developed by the New Brunswick Development Corporation, or DEVCO. The Heldrich’s construction was the first step in transforming the city’s downtown hospitality and arts sector, with the opening of the $172 million New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in 2019 serving as a sort of redevelopment bookend.

“The Heldrich Hotel is a cornerstone of New Brunswick’s downtown, representing the vibrancy and resilience of our city,” said Mayor Jim Cahill.

The hotel will undergo a bit of a facelift, too.

Sandy Castor, the department head of economic development for the county, said the county will enhance the guest rooms, lobby, ballrooms, conference rooms, and infrastructure over the next three years.

That’s good news because Heldrich tends to draw a crowd. Chris Paladino, the president of DEVCO, said that for nearly 20 years, 150,000 people a year came through the hotel’s doors.

“For nearly two decades, people have gathered at the Heldrich,” he said. “CEOs running strategic planning sessions. Celebrations – weddings, christenings, bar mitzvahs. People have gathered to draw legislative and congressional district lines. Elections have been celebrated. Old college friends have gathered for football weekends. Families have gathered in this lobby before a play or the ballet across the street. These events define us as a community.”

Story By: Chuck O'Donnell
Photo Credit: Middlesex County