COMMUNITY BUILDING, NON-PROFIT PARTNERSHIPS HIGHLIGHT ACTIVE YEAR AHEAD FOR JMF PROPERTIES
Three Morris County Retail Properties Near Debut; School Building Opens in Franklin Lakes
WHIPPANY, NJ – JMF Properties is developing several new properties that will help shape the northern New Jersey market in 2023, but it is a focus on charity and improving communities that plays an increasingly defining role for the company.
JMF, one of New Jersey’s leaders in commercial and residential development, will open, expand, or enter the final stages of construction at multiple residential and retail properties in 2023.
In Morris County alone, JMF and its partner entities are developing three retail properties: Morris Marketplace in Morris Township, Hanover Town Center in Hanover Township, and Cedar Village in Hanover Township. On the residential side, JMF recently opened The American, a collection of 125 luxury rental residences just a short walk from downtown Morris Plains and the Morris Plains train station. Additional Morris County luxury communities such as Clarus Morristown and Randolph Liberty Village will break ground later this year.
Across the state, JMF has multiple projects in various stages of development and construction. Among them are Clarus Berkeley Heights, an upscale rental community slated to open in 2024, and Harbor View Marketplace in Bayonne, where an LA Fitness will open in April, joining a waterfront retail mix that includes Costco, Starbucks, Lidl, and CVS. Clarus Berkeley Heights will be the third community to open as part of JMF’s upscale “Clarus” brand of rental residences, following in the footsteps of ultra-successful communities Clarus Maplewood and Clarus Glen Ridge.
JMF’s emphasis on charity, improving neighborhoods, and support for community programming – always a core part of the company mission – is shining brighter than ever in 2023. In December, JMF helped open the brand-new Franklin Lakes campus of REED Academy, a 24,000 square foot school building that allows the organization to better serve New Jersey’s autism community. JMF acted as general contractor and supported the project financially, through the work of its Founder and Principal, Joe Forgione, a founding board member of REED Autism Services.
In September, Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey opened the Forgione Family Engineering Center, a state-of-the-art math, science and robotics facility made possible through the support of benefactors such as JMF and the Forgione Family. The engineering center provides not only classroom space designed for collaborative learning, but also a home for the school’s engineering club, two varsity robotics competition teams, a junior varsity robotics competition team, and three freshmen FIRST Tech Challenge teams. JMF also supports engineering education in other New Jersey classrooms through programs and scholarships such as the Saverio “Sal” Iannaccone Scholarship for Excellence in Math and Science, awarded annually to graduates of Whippany Park High School.
JMF supports several organizations, programs, and charities that improve the lives of New Jersey residents from all walks of life, including vulnerable populations.
In 2020, JMF constructed and donated a group home for Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey, now Pillar Care Continuum, an organization that provides a wide range of services to infants, children and adults with more than 100 different disabilities and diagnoses. JMF also constructed and donated five homes for Arc/Morris County chapter, an organization that provides a community-based system of homes and apartments to support the individual housing needs of people with intellectual disabilities. Mr. Forgione is a long-term fundraiser for Employment Horizons Corp, an organization that provides job training and placement services to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. JMF also supports the work of Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House.
To Mr. Forgione, supporting community-based organizations goes hand-in-hand with the good corporate citizenship JMF is known for. The company prides itself on working closely with municipalities, improving public infrastructure, and beautifying neighborhoods.
“The essence of our corporate mission at JMF has always been to revitalize and improve the communities we work in,” Mr. Forgione said. “We are grateful for all of the opportunities we have to do so, not only through our work as a home builder and commercial developer, but also as a partner to the many community-based organizations, charities and schools who work to make our state a better place.”
For more information on JMF Properties and its current projects, visit www.jmfproperties.com.
About JMF Properties
Under the leadership of Joseph M. Forgione and his 25 years of experience in the industry, JMF Properties has developed a reputation for creating residential, retail, and mixed-use communities of lasting value in some of the state’s most desirable locations. Mr. Forgione has developed more than 2,500 residential units and multiple commercial and retail properties during his career, with more than a dozen current projects totaling over 3.5 million square feet of retail and 1,800 residential units, with another 3 million square feet under development. Projects range from transit-oriented developments to urban and suburban retail centers to sprawling office parks.
As a former long-time Commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, a graduate of civil engineering, and a member of the New Jersey Civil Engineers, Mr. Forgione understands the unique responsibilities and needs of all stakeholders involved in the development process, including local government officials, architects, construction managers, investment partners, community members and end users. This holistic approach to development has been vital to JMF’s success, allowing the company to identify under-valued assets, forge strategic partnerships, and develop dynamic residential and retail properties that enhance their host communities, including the first residential community designed for WELL certification in New Jersey.
Mr. Forgione believes in good corporate citizenship. He is a founding board member of REED Academy School for Autistic Children in Oakland, NJ and a long-term fundraiser for Employment Horizons Corp, an organization that provides job training and placement services to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. He constructed and donated five homes for Arc/Morris County chapter and recently constructed a group home for Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey, which he donated to the organization in 2020. He is a supporter of engineering education in New Jersey and Don Bosco Preparatory High School, where a new math, science and robotics facility, the Forgione Family Engineering Center, opened in 2022. www.jmfproperties.com.
Photo Caption: L to R: Joe Forgione, Founder and Principal of JMF Properties, Purna Rodman Conare, President & CEO of Pillar Care Continuum, and Timothy Quinn, Morris Township Administrator, celebrate the opening of a new group home for Pillar Care Continuum, built and donated by JMF.
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