The first residents have moved into RT500, an 11-story, 179-unit apartment building that just opened its amenity spaces at The Park in Berkeley Heights, a sprawling 185-acre mixed-use campus built on the site of the former Connell Corporate Park. The move-ins mark a turning point for the property, which is transitioning from a single-use suburban office complex into a live-work-play destination with apartments, shops, restaurants and fitness venues layered around its existing corporate tenants.
According to ROI-NJ, RT500 is the newest residential community at The Park, with leasing and in-person tours now underway alongside the arrival of its first tenants. The building includes a resident gym, a co-working space, and a game room reachable from the co-working area by an internal staircase — the game room features a multisport simulator, a pool table and a ping pong table. The co-working space is designed to support residents working from home, taking calls, holding meetings or simply finding workspace outside their apartments.
Shane Connell, executive vice president of The Connell Company, said leasing activity is gaining momentum at the property, and that RT500 brings residents' home, work, wellness and social life together, per the same ROI-NJ report. The building is managed by Greystar, and its leasing office at 500 District Drive in Berkeley Heights is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
A $500 Million Bet on the Old Connell Campus
RT500 represents the first residential phase of a $500 million master-planned redevelopment by The Connell Company, which is transforming the 185-acre former Connell Corporate Park — originally acquired in 1981 — into what the developer envisions as a suburban live-work-play destination, according to Jersey Digs. RT500 is only the first of two planned mid-rise residential towers under the Round Table Residences banner, which together will total 328 units; construction broke ground in October 2025 on RT600, an eight-story, 149-unit sister building, as reported by PR Newswire.
The architecture and interior design of RT500 came from a partnership between Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners and interior designer David M. Sullivan Inc., according to REBusinessOnline. Move-ins officially began August 1, supported by launch promotions offering up to three months of free rent on base pricing ranging from $2,600 to $4,500 per month for units spanning 500 to 1,300 square feet.
Corporate Anchors Still Fill the Office Space
Despite elevated suburban office vacancy rates nationwide, The Park's more than 1.5 million square feet of office and flexible workspace maintains a 97% occupancy rate, anchored by corporate tenants including L'Oréal, HP, Blackstone, Samsung and Aon, per Chief Executive. That steady daytime population of office workers helps explain why the campus also includes RT Workspaces, Round Table Studios and Fieldhouse, along with a 112,000-square-foot Life Time and a 176-room Embassy Suites hotel, per ROI-NJ's reporting. RT500 residents will have access to exclusive membership opportunities at Round Table Studios and Fieldhouse, and the broader campus offers collaborative lounges, outdoor trails and parks.
Beginning around 2017, The Connell Company worked closely with the Township of Berkeley Heights to establish an integrated Mixed-Use Zone framework, expanding allowable retail and entertainment uses up to 250,000 square feet to enable the multi-family residential construction now underway, according to the Township of Berkeley Heights. That municipal groundwork paved the way for the commercial centerpiece of the campus, The District at The Park, a 60-acre stretch with 160,000 square feet of retail and dining space where broker Capricorn Retail Advisors pre-leased more than 37,000 square feet ahead of summer 2026 tenant openings, as noted by Traded.
Restaurants and Shops Filling In Along District Drive
District Drive's growing mix of dining, entertainment, wellness and lifestyle offerings now includes Greatness Wins, Prime IV Hydration & Wellness, Emberside Brewery, Rosa Azul, Bash and Bash's Modo Hi-Fi listening bar, as well as Boschetto, Four Spoons Ice Cream Company, Doner Shack, Cafe Exchange and Dogtopia, according to ROI-NJ. The lineup gives RT500's incoming residents a walkable set of amenities steps from their building's leasing office on District Drive.
The Connell Company itself brings a long institutional history to the project: the family-owned firm was founded in 1926 as a rice brokerage and has remained under family ownership for five generations across a century of operation, evolving into a major real estate and equipment finance enterprise, per PR Newswire.
Local Incomes and Home Values Set the Backdrop
The redevelopment is landing in one of Union County's wealthiest communities. Berkeley Heights Township recorded a median household income of $204,658 in 2024 dollars, roughly double Union County's median household income of $103,202, according to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts data. That purchasing power helps explain demand for both the campus's luxury rentals and its high-end retail tenants.
Berkeley Heights' single-family housing market has climbed in tandem, with the local median home value reaching $980,841 as of July 2026 — a 6.7% increase year-over-year — placing the township in Union County's top tier for home values alongside Summit and Westfield, according to Zillow data cited by Prodigy Real Estate. For many prospective renters, RT500's base pricing of $2,600 to $4,500 a month offers an alternative entry point into a housing market where ownership has grown increasingly out of reach.
