Ribbon Cutting Announced for The Heldrich

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. October 14, 2008

HOUSTON, TX, February 27, 2007. Benchmark Hospitality International, the operator of the hotel and conference center at The Heldrich, the new $120 million mixed use property located at 10 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has announced that a Ribbon Cutting ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 10:30 am. The ceremony will be followed by an open house and refreshments. The media is invited to attend. Parking will be available in the Morris Street Garage on New Street, directly behind The Heldrich.

Officiating and offering comments at the Ribbon Cutting will be:

The Honorable James Cahill, Mayor of New Brunswick

Christopher J. Paladino, President, New Brunswick Development Corporation, Developer of The Heldrich

David Crabiel, Freeholder Director, Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders

Jeffrey V. Farina, Chief Development Officer, Benchmark Hospitality International

Richard McCormick, President, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

John J. Heldrich, the Property's Namesake, former Johnson & Johnson Executive.

The hotel at The Heldrich, which will formally open to the public on March 9, features 248 deluxe guestrooms, including 14 spacious corner suites with views of the cityscape. At street level is Christopher's Restaurant & Bar, which overlooks Livingston Avenue and the State Theatre. In season, Christopher's will offer alfresco dining. The restaurant is accessible through the hotel's lobby and via a separate entrance off Livingston Avenue. The hotel provides two ballrooms, which comfortably accommodate up to 500 guests, making The Heldrich ideal for social functions.

The property features a 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art conference center, complete with Benchmark Hospitality's signature meeting concierge services. Conference facilities include an amphitheater, boardroom, and 21 meeting rooms accommodating from 10 - 500 guests. Benchmark Hospitality International is recognized globally for its excellence in hosting corporate meetings. Additionally, The Heldrich includes 48 luxury condominiums presented by Trammell Crow, scheduled to open mid March; a free-standing restaurant and wine bar opening March 31; the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, opening mid April; and upscale retail boutiques, opening late May.

The Heldrich's Fine Art Collection

Adorning the lobby and public spaces of The Heldrich are exceptional original works of art by internationally renowned New Jersey artists, which were commissioned, purchased or are on loan to the property. Many of these artists will be on hand during the ribbon cutting and open house. Significant commissioned pieces include "The Garden of the Hesperides," the signature lobby artwork by glass architect J. Kenneth Leap of Wheaton Village, and in Christopher's Bar, "New Brunswick at Twilight, Early Fall 2006" by Tim Daly, photorealist painter from Hoboken. The Heldrich has also partnered with the Brodsky Center, a division of Mason Gross at Rutgers, the Jane Vorhees Zimmerli Art Museum and the Grounds for Sculpture for changing exhibitions in gallery spaces created in the public areas of the hotel.

The Heldrich Pay Homage to City's Historic Personages

Additionally, The Heldrich has paid homage to New Brunswick's rich legacy of inventors, artists and industrial greats by naming its ballrooms and event spaces after these historic personages. A sampling of these include Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), who moved to New Brunswick in 1818 to learn the new technology of steamboats; Earle Dickson (1892-1961), a cotton buyer for Johnson & Johnson who later was credited with the invention of BAND-AID brand adhesive bandages; internationally renowned artist George Segal (1924-2000), the famed pop art sculptor who developed a signature method of making life casts of people; and James Price Johnson (1894-1955); a New Brunswick native and originator of "The Charleston."

About The Heldrich

The Heldrich is located in the heart of New Jersey in New Brunswick. The property is situated at 10 Livingston Avenue, just west of the important US Route 1 business corridor stretching from Princeton to New Brunswick and four city blocks from the News Brunswick Train Station (serving the Northeast Corridor: Boston-New York-Philadelphia-Washington, DC) and close to Exit 9 of the NJ Turnpike. It is 30 minutes outside New York City and has rail service to Newark Liberty International Airport.

The $120 million, mixed-use facility is a redevelopment project of New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco), a nonprofit real estate development company. In addition to the hotel and conference center, the property is anchored by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. The Heldrich represents a unique partnership among Devco, Keating Partners, Rutgers, New Jersey Department of Labor, New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, New Jersey Casino Redevelopment Authority, the Middlesex County Improvement Authority and the City of New Brunswick. It is a major anchor to New Brunswick's downtown revitalization program.